One Wild Ride
Part 26 (Conclusion)
Cyrene shoved the big kitchen worktable against the door, her boots scrabbling against thefloor as Eustace threw her weight against the wood next to her. “Son of abacchae!” The innkeeper bellowed. “By all the gods.. they’ve gone insane!”
“Ma’am!” The big cook panted. “We’re going to die! They’ll kill us!”
Cyrene allowed for that possibility as she whirled, hearingthe chaos in the outer room as her eyes searched for something to use as aweapon.
She was no warrior. She’d be the first to admit that, butshe’d given birth to arguably one of the greatest of them and some of that hadcome from her. Not the skill, no, but the will for it. “Stupid sons of..” Shesnatched her biggest butcher knife from the wall and turned, glaring at thedoor which shook under the weight of heavy fists.
Insanity.
“You’ve got em in there, Cyrene! We know it! We want em!” Aloud, male voice yelled.
“Gods.” Cyrene wiped the sweat off her brow. “it’s madness.”She lifted her voice. “I’ve got nothing in here but a blade for your trouble,Alric! Get your scrabble out of here!”
The door shuddered under the pounding.
Cyrene checked the heavy brace holding shut the outer doorto the kitchen, and frantically sorted through her options.
After a moment she realized she had so few the exercisewasn’t worth the energy, and she looked around for a place to make a last standinstead.
How had it come to this? “Stase, get over there against the wall.” She ordered,picking up a heavy cast iron skillet, and handing it to her long time cook.“Hold that. If the bastards get in here, just start swinging at anything thatmoves.”
Eustace blinked unhappily at her.
“Except me.” Cyrene clarified, putting her back to the bighearth and taking a two handed grip on her cleaver. The sounds outside weregetting louder, and she could hear the sharp whacks of an ax against wood andsmell the scent of burning.
“Oh, ma’am.” Eustace half sighed, half sobbed. “I’m glad atleast the little one’s safe.”
Safe. Cyrene felt an ache in her chest. For now. She had noillusions that the Amazons, hardy thought they were, could stop the flood ofmercenaries now arriving in the town. Two score more of them had arrived today, and now that the militia hadbeen run out of the region, they had nothing left to stand up to them with .
Unreasoning. Mindless. Just the insane need for the jewelsthat little Dori had unthinkingly shown in the inn, proud as always of herpretty rocks.
Balanced on edge, the merchants fuming over their losses, itwas just enough to send them into a downward spiral of singleminded
“Ma’am?”
Cyrene turned. “Yes?”
The cook shifted the skillet from one hand to the other, andwiped her palm on her skirt. “Thank you.”
“For what?” The innkeeper asked, sharply.
“You’ve been real good to me.” Eustace replied. “So howeverthis ends, I’m all right with that.”
Cyrene looked at her. “Well.” She tightened her grip, as thedoor started to bow inward. “Thanks, but I’m not.” She turned her attention back to the sounds.
The door cracked inwards, and she heard a yell of triumphfrom outside, as the table she’d slid against it rolled back, it’s legsscraping against the floor.
Eustace’s eyes widened, and she stared at the door.
“Argh!” A hole opened as the door split, and a arm appeared,holding a mace. Without really thinking about it, Cyrene rushed forward andchopped at it, whacking her cleaver into the man’s wrist and twisting as theblade entered bone.
A scream. Hoarse yells from outside, indistinguishable. Loud bangs. Another loud scream.
She wasn’t sure if it was Eustace or the man. “Bastard!”Cyrene yelled, at the top of her lungs. “Take that!” She chopped again, and thehand with the mace fell off, as the arm jerked backwards, and disappeared.
“Why, you bitch!”
“ Bust up my place, will ya?” Cyrene felt a sense of ragetaking over the fear, and she yanked at the table. “I’ll come out there andchop you all to bits you two faced pieces of horse dung!” She pulled at thedoor, hauling it open in a rush of mindless fury.
One man was kneeling on the floor holding his arm, spurtingblood. The rest of the inn, shockingly, was empty, and the front door was wideopen, sounds of hoofbeats, and movement flooding in.
Outside, she could see many bodies, moving fast. She ran forthe door, the cleaver still in her hand, and stopped when she reached it andstared into the town square, filled now with armed, leather clad bodies.
Dirty.
Stinking. More of the mercenaries. Cyrene felt a sense of despair take her, as she watched themerchant leader scramble up the short slope that lead to the path to Xena’shome, and hold his hands up.
The mercenaries shook their weapons at him.
“Let’s go! Now we’ll get what we want!” The merchant yelled.“We’ll run right over those damn women!”
“Yeah!”
Cyrene stared at them. There had to be at least a hundredmercenaries, and as she looked around, she saw her fellow townsfolk hidingthemselves behind doors, behind windows – refusing to meet her eyes as she halfturned and knew herself to be alone.
No one would stop them.
Cyrene turned back again, and watched all the merchantscluster behind the mercenaries, the musk of greed making her nose wrinkle asshe gripped the railing of the inn porch in frustration, knowing she had nochance of stopping them either.
“Let’s go!” The man turned and started up the path, thecrowd surging eagerly behind him, almost running him down when he stoppedabruptly only a few steps later.
Men pushed and shoved forward, yelling angrily, brandishingweapons as they shoved the merchant forward, despite his
The leaves rustled, and branches shifted, as though the windwere moving them deferentially from the path, and motion became evident againsttheir pattern in shifts of dark leather and tan skin.
Xena stepped out of the shadows and into the dappledsunlight, gold reflections glinting off the sword clasped lightly in one hand,blade held in ready position. Shestopped on a small rise just in front of them and waited, her eyes slowlymoving over the shoving mass of men.
Cyrene felt the cleaver drop from her now shaking fingers,and she blinked away a few tears, her body sagging against the railing in arush of relief. “Whichever one of you was watching over her.. thank you.” Shewhispered, almost hearing a soft, deep chuckle she might have once known. “Evenyou.”
The chuckle sounded softly again, then faded into the wind.
Xena stood her ground, her fingers shifting restlessly onthe hilt of her sword. “What is this?” She barked out the question. “Where inthe Hades do you think you’re going?’
The merchant took courage from the numbers behind him andstepped forward. “You can’t stop us, Xena. We’re gonna get those jewels, sojust move out of the way, and you won’t get hurt.”
Xena put her free hand on her hip and looked at him. “*I*won’t get hurt?”
Behind her, Gabrielle appeared, alone. She walked forwardand stood just behind Xena, her staff balanced in both hands and her feetspread at shoulder width in a ready stance. “*We* won’t get hurt?” She amended loudly. “Boy, are yougoing down the wrong path, buddy.”
“That’s right. Now c’mon!” He waved the mob of merchants andmercenaries forward, and started towards her himself, a look of almost manicdetermination on his face. “We’ve waited long enough!”
The branches moved again and the Amazons appeared, blockingthe path and raising bows.
“That won’t stop us either!” The merchant yelled. “I”ll havethem! I’ll have those stones!” He rushed at Xena, an ax in his hands as helifted his arms to swing at her. “I’ll have them, Xena! You’ve been keepingthem from us, from the town.. they’re ours! They’re mine!”
Xena hardly seemed to move. She tossed her sword from herright hand to her left, and shifted as he reached her, backhanding her weaponpast the clumsy ax as she kicked it from his hands and her stroke took his headoff with no more effort than swatting a fly might have.
Her second kick tossed his body back at the mercenaries,blood spurting from the neck as the arms twitched and jerked, and the headrolled crazily back down the slope.
The mob pulled up short, stumbling and jumping out of theway of the bloody mess tumbling through them.
“They’re not.” Xena said, after a moment of shockedsilence. She hopped off the rockshe was standing on and stalked forward towards them. “They’re mine.” Shepointed at her chest with her thumb. She reached the first of the mercenaries, without hesitating a beat andgutted him before he could bolt out of the way.
She kicked the body off her sword and swung it, the redblade glistening in the sun. “Everybody clear on that?”
The mob stirred uneasily, fear rising. “Xena, you can’t..”One of the merchants yelled.
“I CAN.” Xena bellowed back without restraint. She leapedover two of the stumbling mercenaries and landed near him, putting the point ofher sword in his face. “This is MY place, not yours.”
The merchant was braver than he was smart. “I”ll… “ Hisvoice cracked, but he kept on. “I”ll have the law on you!”
Xena pressed her sword point against his throat. “I am thelaw here.” She said, quietly, into a suddenly windswept silence. “Thatmountain’s mine. What’s in it’s mine.”
The man took a step back. Xena stepped with him.
Gabrielle stood ready, her heart balanced between despairand elation, between the promise of darkness and the certainty of thelight.
Between the truth of what was, and the wistful wish of whatmight have been.
It’s all right be bad, Xena. Her youthful earnestnessfloated in her minds eye. So long as you’re bad in a good cause.
“More than.” Solari stepped up next to her, bow cocked, headup, shoulders back. “More than ready, my queen.”
“Xena’s right.” Gabrielle pulled a breath in, deep into hergut and let her voice carry, the mature, rounded tones breaking through therustling of weapons. “This is our place, and we’re ready to die to keep it thatway. Are you?” Behind her, in the tree just over her shoulder, she knew Doriwas perched, watching. “Because I guarantee more of you will die than we will.”
“Bu..” The merchant stared at his dead companion. He lookedback up at Xena.
Xena stared levelly at him. “My home.” She said. “Mymountain. My town.” With a flickering motion, she sliced through the skin of his throat and senthim reeling backwards. “Mine.” She took a step towards the mob, the windriffling through her dark hair, and exposing the starkly planed cheekbones.
“Take aim.” Gabrielle ordered quietly, both hands on her staffas she grounded it between her boots.
The Amazons raised their bows and nocked arrows, musculararms drawing gut strings back in a whisper of stolid finality.
One of the mercenaries let out a yell. “They’re just women!Kill em!” A surge of motion started, as the fighters scrambled forward.
“Fire.” Gabrielle said, never stirring as shafts sped fromall around her forward, ending in searing thunks as the entered the bodies ofthe men coming towards them. “Ready.”
The surge forward stopped, and became a ramblebackwards, as Xena leaped in thedirection of the attack and let out a battle yell, and the Amazons startedforward, echoing the cry as Gabrielle jumped and landed near her partner, herstaff coming up as she prepared to defend Xena’s flank.
The mercenaries held their nerve for one more moment, thenthe first men broke, and turned, and ran, shoving the merchants to the groundin their haste and it became a swarm of sweating, blood spattered leather andmusky stench ringing to the sound of fierce cries that echoed, and echoed andechoed.
And then it was quiet, as Xena, Gabrielle, and the Amazonsreached the edge of the path and came into view of the village, the mobdissolving before them and scattering down the road towards the river.
The destruction made them stop dead in their tracks, eyesmoving over the burned buildings, and the broken fences.
“Mama!” Dori wriggled between the Amazons and squeezedbetween her mother and her Boo, her eyes widening as she grabbed hold ofGabrielle’s leg and stared into the destruction. “Oh!”
Xena let her stained blade rest against her shoulder armor.“I should have killed them all.” She remarked, in a almost ordinary tone.“Bastards.”
Gabrielle reached down and took Dori’s hand. “All right.”She said. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”
“Bastards.” Xena repeated, in an undertone.
**
Sad destruction. Gabrielle felt the bulk ofCyrene’s inn, thankfully whole, behind her as she faced the central square andthe ruins of her home. Though they’d assured themselves off the innkeeper’ssafety, she had yet to talk to Cyrene beyond an initial heartfelt bear hug.
The stable stood with doors open, a hollow darkness insideand a huge rent in one wall that showed empty stalls and a spill of hay to hershocked eyes.
Thank the gods, they’d left Argo and her son on the plateau abovetheir new cabin. If Xena had come back and found evil done to them the barddoubted any of the merchants would have left the town in one piece, and she wasalmost in a place where she could understand that.
The sturdy wooden railings were in pieces, scattered on theground. The well built shops that shared the square with Cyrene’s inn weresmouldering, empty windows and broken walls making her heart ache.
Why? Becausethe merchants up here, the ones that lived in the town and were part of it –hadn’t suffered the flood as they had?
Revenge. Jealousy. Petty spitefulness, driving them to takeaway from someone what they had taken away from them.
Peh. The bard felt depressed, with the reality of all thedestruction in front of her and the knowledge that, at some level, they’d beblamed for it. Especially sincethe inn had been left intact, and so, she’d noted, had the cabin they’d firstlived in.
Why? Gabrielle gazed down at her scratched and bruisedhands, aching quietly on the wood they were resting on. Had Xena’s reputation,even now, kept them whole when all the rest were razed? Perhaps the merchants,if not the mercenaries, had realized at some gut level that no matter theriches, no matter the reward – it was no trade off for being gutted on the endof Xena’s sword if she sought vengeance for the destruction of what was hers.
Maybe they hadn’t forgotten quite as much as her partner hadaccused them of, after all.
Easier to take frustration out on simple villagers, andfellow merchants, wasn’t it? Easier to rationalize that they were just makingthings equal, in a twisted way having suffered so much loss and then to havebeen faced with the sudden vision of impossible wealth before them…
Dori’s pretty rocks. Gabrielle sighed. “I should have let hercollect lizards instead. Worst that would have got me was a nibble now andthen.” She’d known Xena’s dream ofkeeping it all a secret was an unlikely wish – in fact, they had argued aboutit not a sevenday before the flood.
Pragmatic as her partner was, there was still a slice of herthat had a blind spot when it came to getting what she wanted. Xena often feltthat if she simply willed it hard enough, that’s the way things were goingto be.
She had, Gabrielle had to admit, a decent track record of that.But in this case, the bard’s heart and her knowledge of people told her that itwas only a matter of time.
Well. Here they were. She felt sad at the thought, andwondered what would happen now – since she knew word would leak out and thenwhat? How long could Xena’sreputation scare people off – and what if they weren’t around?
Gabrielle sighed. “Damn it.”
Around the central well, some of the villagers hadcollected, looking around in dismay as they clustered together, shaking theirheads as they peered down the path. One looked up and saw her, and for a longmoment Gabrielle thought the woman was going to turn away.
She was human. The idea hurt. But the woman’s face tensed into a smile, and she lifted ahand in a weary wave, nudging her companion and indicating the bard’s presence. The man pushed away fromthe well and came over to the inn steps, his eyes warming as he neared her.
“Hello, Bren.” Gabrielle greeted him quietly.
“Gabrielle.” The village blacksmith stopped by the porch,wiping his hands on his trousers before he extended an arm to her. “Glad to seeyou safe.”
The bard smiled, and clasped his arm.
The blacksmith reached over with his other hand and pattedher shoulder. “A mess, surely, lass.” He agreed. “But it’s over now and I’mglad you’re back. We’ve seen worse, and likely will again.”
It gave her a brief pang in her chest, the raw truth of hiswords that no platitudes could soften. Life was, she knew better than most, really rotten at times and onlyoccasionally did really great things happen to balance that off. “It’s a mess.”She murmured. “But we’ll make it right again.” Her eyes met his. “You can counton it”
“Aye.” Bren released her arm. “Xena made it clear of that.No mistaking.” He turned and went back to the well, pausing to talk to thepeople around it, most of whom glanced over his shoulder to where the bard wasquietly standing and waved in greeting.
Well. Gabrielle leaned on the inn’s porch railing, watchingas the group turned to the task of pulling up water, her shoulders twitching insympathy at the sight. She turnedat the creak of footsteps behind her, only to be gently enveloped in Cyrene’sarms as her mother in law hugged her. “Oh, mom.” A gasp escaped her.
“Gabrielle.” Cyrene released her and held her at arm’sdistance. “It’s like waking from a night mare to see you both.” She studied thebard’s face. “Thank the gods you’re safe.”
“Same for you.” Gabrielle managed a smile, before she turnedto look out over the town. “Wish we’d made it back earlier.” She watched twomen carry a bucket from the well to dump it’s contents into the stillsmoundering ruins. “Damn.”
Cyrene leaned next to her. “Yeah.”
The bard slowly shook her head. “Why?” She asked. “There’sno sense to this.”
The innkeeper sighed. “It was too much.” She said. “Theflood, the losses… they weren’t getting what they wanted out of us, andthen.. Maybe it was desperation.Maybe we should have helped them.. given them.. I don’t know.”
Gabrielle pondered quietly. “You had nothing to give them,Cyrene. What were you going to do.. sell the crops?” She said. “What they werelooking for wasn’t here.”
Cyrene exhaled. “We could have scraped up something.” Shesaid. “I have a few coins put by.
The bard gazed out over the village. “It wouldn’t have beenenough.” She told her mother in law. “They lost everything down there, in theflood.”
“Mm.”
“But they’re still bastards and I’m glad we stopped them.” Gabriellecontinued, in a firmer tone. “And I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.” She turned toface Cyrene. “We can rebuild houses. We can’t replace people.”
Cyrene smiled at her. “Some are more replaceable thanothers.” She remarked dryly. “Sorry, Gabrielle. I know you don’t feel this way, but some here gotwhat they deserved.”
The bard blinked at her.
“They were ready to throw me to the wolves.” The innkeepersaid. “Only ones who stood by me were your Amazons, and a few neighbors.” Shenodded slowly. “So the Hades with them. I learned a lesson this past time, letme tell you.” Her eyes droppedbriefly, then returned to the bard’s face. “I lost sight of who my familyreally is.”
Gabrielle felt the breath come out of her, as the wordspenetrated. She reached out and took the innkeeper’s hands. “We were all kindof mad at each other before we..”
“Before you nearly gave your life up for us, again?” Cyrenesqueezed her fingers. “The sheep weren’t worth that, daughter. Nor thehucksters running after them.”
Gabrielle’s lips tensed into a faint smile. “We didn’t meanget you angry, mom.”
“I know.” The innkeeper said. “I didn’t mean to keep harpingon you either.”
They looked at each other, and then, without really anywarning, Cyrene released her hands and enveloped her in a hug againinstead. The bard returned it,feeling her heart ease a little as she felt Cyrene pat her back.
“By the gods, Gabrielle.. you feel like nothing but bones!?”The innkeeper exclaimed, as she separated from her and took a good look at thebard. “What have you been doing?”
How to answer that? The bard exhaled silently. “Well.. wehad a lot of ..it was tough.. we traveled a lot and.. there was some fightingbut...” She hesitated. “Mom.. this is going to be a crazy question.. but howlong have we been gone?”
Cyrene released her and stepped back, cocking her headslightly. “Well.” She frowned. “A sevenday, just.” She said. “Seemed like alifetime but really…”
A sevenday. Gabrielle felt a sense of shock, even thoughshe’d expected to hear something like it. “Ah.” She murmured, leaning backagainst the porch railing. “Felt like a lot l.. like a lifetime.”
“I know.” Cyrene mistook her reaction. “Seems so short atime for all this to have happened… and I admit, it came so fast.. I mean, Iknew they were angry, but…”
A sevenday. Gabrielle half shook her head. “What..um..” She put her thoughts aside.“What happened to the militia, mom? Eph said they were run off? I can’t believethat.” She shifted the conversation to a different topic hastily.
“Well.” Cyrene hesitated.
“Mama.” Dori emerged from the inn and came over to them.“Peoples did bad things.”
The bard looked down at her. “I know, honey.” She said, witha sigh. “C’mere. “ She picked Dori up and hugged her, pitifully glad of thescent of clean, sun warmed fabric and the feel of her daughter’s arms aroundher as she got a hug back. “People did. But we stopped them, and now everyonecan have fun again, right?”
Dori put her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Love mama.” Shereplied briefly. “No more bad peoples.”
“The militia didn’t run off.” Cyrene quietly put a hand onGabrielle’s arm. “The council disbanded them.”
Gabrielle stared at her. The innkeeper shrugged slightly.
“Xena wasn’t here. What can I tell you?” Cyrene sighed. “Andthen after the mercenaries came in, it was too late. The soldiers.. Xena’sboys, had gone off in disgust and all were left were farmers and plowmen whoneeded a leader.”
The bard slowly shook her head. “Well, you’ve got one now.”She said.
“Got two.” Cyrene replied, patting her shoulder.
“Mm.” Gabriellemused thoughtfully. “We’ll see.”
**
Xena stood at the edge of the river and looked over it.
The buildings, the market, the homes…
The warrior sighed, letting sore hands rest on her thighs asthe cool spring breeze tickled across her skin. Footsteps scuffed behind her,and she half turned to find Johan at her back, the retired merchant’s face astudy in craggy, pensive acceptance. “Johan.”
“Ah, Xena.” The man came over and clasped her shoulder withone hand, a mixture of respect and familiarity he’d earned. “You’re a sight forsore eyes, for sure.” He shook hishead. “Another day, and we’ll all have been washed down the river, I’m thinking.”
Xena thought about that moment, when she and Gabrielle haddecided in what they thought was mere caprice, to push on through the night andget home. “Yeah.”
Johan snorted softly. “Xena, I’d do anything for the woman,but she watches after herself a sight better than I ever could and you knowit.” He returned the hug, giving her a pat on the side. “Twas frustrationsending them in there today, since your feathered friends up the line waskeeping em from what they wanted.”
Amazons. Xena exhaled. Defending her home out of a sense of…loyalty?
Friendship?
The warrior acknowledged privately that she, too, had somereassessment to do in how she looked at things and people.
Justified? “Well.” The warrior sighed again, and lookedacross the river. “Got a lot of cleaning up to do, I guess. “ She murmured.“Though I’m not sure how many of them’ll be back.”
Johan studied the scene, his thumbs hooked into his belt.“Don’t think they will, Xena.” He said. “I think we had our moment, and it’sgone now. Unless them bastards bring back Athen’s army, that is.”
Xena went to the edge of the river, to the ford she’d beencrossing since she was barely old enough to walk. Losing the growth of thelower town meant going backwards for Amphipolis but wasn’t that exactly whatshe’d wanted?
“Not that I think you’d mind it.” Johan said, in an almostapologetic tone.
“No.” Xena replied honestly. “But I wouldn’t have willed itthis way.”
Johan was silent for a bit as they stood there together. Inthe far distance, the hunting party of Amazons were returning, their wiry,muscular figures outlined in the late afternoon’s sun.
“Don’t let them hear you say that.” Xena warned, with a wryexpression.
Johan chuckled and slapped her on the back, then he turnedand started back up towards the inn, past the wrecks of wagons, and the debris,and the destruction.
Xena decided to wait for the Amazons, and so she sat herselfdown on an upturned barrel and hitched one booted foot up onto her knee, gladenough of the chance to rest a few minutes. Now that all the challenges were momentarily at least put tothe side, she allowed herself to feel as exhausted as she was, and spared a mournful,wishful thought for the warmth of a bath and the softness of her own bed.
She turned her hands over and looked at the palms, socrossed with gouges and scrapes it was hard to see skin between them.
There was a dark smudge on the skin, and on the pad belowthe base of her fingers, and again on the first and second joints as thoughshe’d taken hold of a hot coal and it had left it’s mark on her.
Then a splash made her look up, as Solari led the Amazonsback across the river, holding her bow up over her head as the water came up toher neck at the ford. The squad ofwarriors followed her, and in a minute or two they were sloshing ashore andheading her way.
Solari stopped in front of her, and shook herself. “Typicalmen.” She remarked. “Kick them in the crotch and they run like washerwomen.”
The mixed metaphors made Xena’s nose wrinkle. “Thanks.” Sheanswered. “How many got off?”
“About half.” Solari responded readily. “We kept shootingthem from behind.”
The warrior nodded, after a moment. “Good.” She said. “Maybethat’s enough to keep them running.” Killing all of them would have been onesolution, she knew – but she’d also been doing this long enough to know thevalue of the tall tales men told when explaining why they ran from women.
By the time they finished, Xena figured she’d be twenty bodylengths tall and have fangs the size of Argo’s left foreleg.
“And convince em not to come back?” Solari grinned, then herexpression shifted. “Word’ll get out. Maybe it’ll bring your soldier boysback.” Her tone was offhand, but there was a touch of spice to it, that Xena’snewly sensitive ears heard.
The warrior shrugged. “If they do, they do.” She said.
Solari stopped in mid motion and looked at her, then glancedover her shoulder to where the rest of the Amazons were waiting and listening.After a second, she looked back at Xena. “Say what?”
The pale blue eyes blinked mildly at her.
Solari grinned. “Nope.” Her shoulders straightened. “Y’know,that’s’s the nicest damn thing you ever said to us, Xena. Very cool.” She halfturned to her companions. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Several of them replied, nodding. “Feels more likethe war. Not like we’re an afterthought.” The short woman closest to Xenasaid. “Those guys ran off surefast enough.. but we didn’t.”
“No.” Xena folded her hands together. “Amazons never run.”
They all straightened at that, and unconscious motion shecaught from the corner of her eye. It made her smile, a little. “You know, Ionce told Melosa I’d rather fight a Cyclops than an Amazon. She laughed.”
Solari cocked her head, and then, warily, lifted her hand upand put it’s palm brazenly on Xena’s forehead. “You need a drink?”
“Yeah.” Xena had to chuckle at the reaction. “I probably do.Been a long damn day.”
“Been a long damn seven days with you two gone.” Solariagreed. She shook the water offher hands and looked back up towards the inn. “Wanna?”
Seven days? Even though she’d half expected it, it still surprised her. Xenacollected herself with an effort and stood, her mind whirling. “Yeah, sure.”She gestured towards the path. “Let’s go.” She flexed her hands and followed the Amazons, as theydripped muddy river water onto the already churned up ground before them.
Seven days?
**
Gabrielle sat in a chair near the wall, watching theresidents of the town slowly file in. She had Dori sitting in her lap, and shewas leaning back against the wall, an empty mug in front of her.
The bard felt a sense of disconnection, from the exhaustionshe knew was almost conquering her. The sounds around her were just so muchbuzzing, and now that she’d eaten some of the bread and cheese Cyrene hadscavenged from the larder it was getting harder and harder to keep her head up.
“Mama.” Dori offered her a bit of bread. “You want?”
“Sure.” Gabrielle opened her mouth and waited for herdaughter to deposit the offering. She chewed it and swallowed without reallytasting it, and wished she had another mug of ale to wash it down with. ButCyrene had been pulled aside by some of the town elders in the corner, and shefelt bringing attention to herself was probably not the best idea at themoment. ‘Thank you, sweetie.”
“Good you back.” Dori remarked. “You go Boo too long, you have fun?”
“Not really, honey.” Gabrielle admitted. “Boo and I had avery tough time, and we had to do a lot of bad things.”
“No fun?” Dori looked up.
“Well.” The bard studied the round, innocent face. “We hadsome fun. I met some new friends, and I know you’d love them if you met them.Boo sang to them. Wasn’t that nice of her?”
Dori grinned. “Love Boo.”
“Yeah, me too.” Gabrielle smiled back at her. “Boo made allthe bad men run away, didn’t she?”
“Mama too.”
“Mama too.” The bard agreed.
“Go mama.” Dori leaned back against her and squiggledcontentedly. “Eff an dose otherswe go to the mountain place and have fun.” She related. “Gots lots of fishies.”
“Would you get me lots of fishes, Dor?” The bard asked. “I’dlike that.”
“Yes.” Her precocious offspring replied in a positive tone.“Let’s get Boo, and go get fishies, mama.” She ordered. “Go now.”
And, as if by some magic, the door opened and through thefog that surrounded her, Gabrielle felt the emotional equivalent of a fierce,fresh breeze and she looked up to find Xena in the opening, the setting sunoutlining her body and yet doing nothing to blunt the force of those brightblue eyes watching her.
The low murmur faded. The crowd turned, as they felt thewarrior’s presence. “Xena.” One of the elders said her name, in a quiet tone.
The warrior closed the door, and her features became vividin the light of the candles within. “Yes.” She put her hands on her hips andwaited.
The elder glanced at Cyrene, then faced her daughter. “Wheredo we go from here now?”
Xena looked around, finding every eye on her.
The elder looked tired, and sounded it. “I thought I knewwhat we all wanted.” He replied. “I thought we all did, we saw all theopportunity coming to us and I thought, yes. It’s time.”
Cyrene sighed, and looked away.
“But we lost control of ourselves.” The elder concluded, ina soft tone.
Xena walked over to where Gabrielle was sitting and joinedher, holding out her arms as Dori scrambled over and leaped into them. “Hey,shortie.” She gave her daughter a hug. “I missed ya.” She let one hand rest on the chair arm and felt Gabrielle’sfingers curl over hers immediately. “Are you keeping your mama company for me?”
“Mama’s toast.” Gabrielle uttered.
Xena nodded. “Tell you what.” She addressed the stillwaiting crowd. “Everyone go get a good night’s sleep somewhere. We’ll talktomorrow.”
She sensed relief in the atmosphere, as the villagersdispersed into smaller groups and turned away from them.
Gabrielle’s head was resting against the wall, and there wasa quiet sadness about her that made Xena reach out instinctively and touch hercheek. “You okay?”
The bard’s pale lashes fluttered a few times. “Yeah, I’m…um.” She hesitated, then lowered her voice. “I’m bleeding.”
Xena eyed her quickly. “W.. did someone here..” She leanedforward. “Where..” Her words cut off when she caught Gabrielle’s expression,and she paused, her heart sinking. “Oh.”
Gabrielle held her eyes for a moment, then glanced away,with a slight shrug. Then shelooked back at the warrior, seeing a disappointment there that fully matchedher own. “Hey.” She squeezed Xena’s hand. “After everything that happened…Xena, if that’s the worst thing that came out of that valley, I’ll take it. Imean that, with all my heart.”
And Xena knew she did mean it. “Cmon.” She stood, cradlingDori against her with one arm and offered the bard a hand up. “Let’s go home.”
Gabrielle leaned against her and closed her eyes. “I neverleft home.” She said. “But I’ll take a bath and a bed and you and be very, verygrateful right now.”
They walked slowly to the door, aware of the eyes thatfollowed them curiously as they left the inn, and headed into the russet glowbeyond.
**
Gabrielle sat in the chair behind her writing desk, herelbows resting on her knees as she gazed slowly around the inside of theircabin.
Still unfinished, still a little strange in her eyes, but sovery welcome nonetheless. Sheremained still, reveling in the feel of clean skin and warm clothes, and thesoft fur rug under her bare feet, the heat of the fire in the fireplace gentlytoasting her skin and the scent of fresh raspberry tea drifting by.
The window showed the fading purple of twilight and if shelooked out from where she was sitting, she could just see a sprinkling of starsbetween the leaves blinking placidly down at her.
It was a little hard to believe she was here, after whatthey’d just gone through and Gabrielle found herself more than content tosimply sit and enjoy the peace. She picked up her mug and sipped the teainside, rolling the sweet, honey laced warmth around the inside of her mouthbefore she swallowed it.
Life could be savored again.
“Ugh.” Xena emerged from the bathing room draped in a squareof linen, Dori pattering along cheerfully wet and naked behind her. “C’mere, yalittle frog. Let me dry you off.”
“Toss it here.” Gabrielle set her cup down and caught thetowel, just as Dori reached her. “Look at you, Dori. You’re all wet.”
“Yes.” Dori allowed herself to be tousled dry. “Good, mama!”
Gabrielle pulled Dori closer and gave her a kiss on her damphead. “Go over and let Boo put a shirt on you, okay?”
“Otay.” Dori scooted over to the clothing press, where Xenahad just finished draping her own long form with a mostly threadbare shift.“Boo, you gots the red one?”
“Sure.” Xena provided the requested item, a little roughlinen shirt in a rust color that she got over Dori’s head and pulled down overher body. “That what you want?”
Dori looked up at her, and grinned wholeheartedly. “WantBoo!”
Xena picked her up and cradled her in her arms. “You gotme.” She said, walking over to the low slung couch and dropping into it. “Nowwhat?” She asked the child. “You going to tell us what you did while we weregone?”
Dori kicked her bare feet out. “Draw a pitcher.” Shedecided, squirming off Xena’s lap and heading for her toy box. “Boo, boo boo..”
Xena leaned her head back and looked over at Gabrielle. She pattedthe couch. “Nice of those guys to bring our stuff up.”
“It was.” The bard agreed softly. “I thanked Eph so manytimes I think she thought I had a fever. She kept asking where your herb boxwas.”
“Ah. Yeah.” Xena studied the weary lines on her partner’sface. “I complimented the Amazons. They probably think I’m drunk.” She tappedthe edge of the couch, and when Gabrielle looked up, she crooked a finger ather. “C’mere.”
Gabrielle got up slowly, taking her cup with her as shecircled the couch and settled down at Xena’s side, leaning against her with along, heartfelt sigh. “Damn I’m tired.”
Xena wiggled her toes, blinking a little. “Me too.” Sheagreed. “I’m so damn tired I can’t even think straight.” She rested her headagainst Gabrielle’s and they sat together in silence, watching Dori sprawled onthe floor, making marks on a piece of tattered parchment with a stick ofcharcoal from the fire.
“Didn’t she just take a bath?” Gabrielle asked mournfully,as the black soot traveled further up her child’s arms.
“Mm.” Xena nodded.
“She’s so much like you.” The bard said, then fell silentagain.
Xena could feel the pain in her. She slipped her arm around Gabrielle’s shoulders and reachedover to cup the side of her head with her other hand, cradling the bard againsther as gently as she could. There was no resistance at all to her, Gabriellewent with the motion and put both arms around her, burying her face againstXena’s chest.
Words were meaningless, and so Xena didn’t bother withthem. She used touch instead, asoft, gentle massage along the back of Gabrielle’s neck and steady kissesacross the top of her head, saying with every motion, every breath, every beatof her heart how much she loved her.
She felt Gabrielle take a breath in, and release it, thenshe felt the pressure of the bard’s lips against her skin as she shifted andsnuggled closer, sliding one leg up over Xena’s as she relaxed again.
“Know something.” Gabrielle murmured, her breath warmagainst Xena’s neck. “I’m too tired to even cry.”
“So don’t.” Xena rocked her a little.
Gabrielle could feel some of the ache fading away, and shehad the sensation that Xena was cradling her soul in ethereal security in thepalms of her hands. It was an odd feeling, but she knew it was as real as theheartbeat under her cheek and she set herself free to float in it.
Life happened. If you were lucky, you had someone to share the beauty of that, and theugliness of it and by that gauge Gabrielle knew herself to be a very luckywoman. She gave Xena a hug,and breathed in the scent of her clean shift and the spicy soap they’d bothsorely missed in the valley.
Maybe what she’d felt, what they’d sensed in the valley wasas much of a dream as everything else seemed to have turned out to be.Gabrielle was willing to go that route, willing to give up the pain of whatmight have beens to focus instead of what was, and what could become now thattheir world had shifted to yet another path.
“Gabrielle?”
“Mm?”
“It’ll happen.”
The bard turned her head and shifted so she could look up atXena, studying the angular planes now outlined in the gentle glow of theirfire. She could see the warrior’seyes looking back at her and the weariness she was feeling was reflected inthem, full measure. “Was it all a dream, Xe?”
The warrior thought in silence briefly, then shook her head.
“If we were only gone a sevenday…”
“They think.” Xena interrupted her.
Gabrielle blinked a few times. “That’s really arrogant, youknow?”
“Yeah.” Xena agreed. “But I am that.” She paused.“Sometimes.”
The bard’s face moved into a faint smile. “Sometimes.” Sheagreed. “But you know, I think I like that about you.”
One of the dark brows lifted.
“You are who you are, Xena.” Gabrielle said. “Just like youtold me, I am who I am.”
Xena leaned over and kissed her on the lips, her eyesfluttering closed as the contact lengthened and their mingled breathing shortened.She paused and lifted her head a little, touching the tip of her nose to thebard’s. “I love who you are.”
Gabrielle’s eyes opened, revealing shadowed green eyes.“Likewise.”
Considering who she was, Xena accepted that as the profoundcompliment it was. She kissed Gabrielle again, and smiled, as the bard huggedher, the sadness she’d felt through their link easing and fading away. Itrelieved her, and that in turn apparently relieved Gabrielle because they bothmelted into a comfortable snuggle bordering on the verge of sleep.
“Mama, look.” Dori came over, dragging her parchment behindher. She tugged on Gabrielle’s shift and held it up. “See?”
Ah well. Gabrielle turned and peered at the parchment. Thenshe slowly reversed her position and tilted her head to look at the item upsidedown. “Oh.” She murmured. “Xe,look!”
Xena took the parchment and turned it right side up, tiltingit towards the fire to let the light show it’s details. There was a round blobin the middle, with what looked like a snake emerging from it, and short linesaround it all. “Gorgeous.”
“You like? Aminal came and scared Guff.” Dori told her.“Make friends and then go play. Fun!”
Gabrielle squirmed upright again and looked at theparchment. “What kind of animal, Dor? Was it a pig?” She guessed. “Oh, Xe..don’t tell me mom’s wild pigs are getting up here. They scare the poo out ofme.”
Dori clapped her hands together, which were now covered incharcoal. She held them up for Xena’s inspection, then reached for her mother.“Mmmmamama…”
“Bah bah… whoa.” Gabrielle managed to disentangle her handsfrom Xena’s shirt fast enough to catch her child’s black smudged ones beforethey could mark her. “Hold on there young lady.” She struggled to sit up.“Ugh.”
“Hang on.” Xena squirmed around and got an arm under her,lifting her to a sitting position. “There.”
“Thanks.” The bard sighed. “Boy, I’m stiffening up.”
Dori giggled and danced around, both hands being held firmlyover her head. “Mama… go fly!”
“Oh no.” Gabrielle’s voice drifted back. “No flying tonight,Doriana.”
Xena sat quietly for a moment, then she got up and followedher family into the back room. She went over to where Gabrielle was kneelingnext to the bath, scrubbing Dori’s hands and dropped to her knees behind thebard, sliding her arms around her and taking the soap from her fingers.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping.” Xena splashed water over all of them.
“Xena!”
The warrior chuckled. “Sorry.”
“Wench.” Gabrielle rested her forearms on the tub andresigned herself to watching, finding it hard to even keep her eyes open. “Butthanks.”
She didn’t remember Xena finishing, or the warrior dryingDori’s hands. The next thing she knew, the world was turning upside down andair was rushing past her head, a disorienting motion that made her yelp insurprise. “Yow!”
“Easy.” Xena cradled her and stood. “Bedtime, my love.”
Unexpectedly, Gabrielle’s eyes stung with tears and sheblinked, lifting a hand to clear them. “I am tired.. I think I’m losing mymind.” She muttered, a littleembarrassed as Xena carried her back into the main room of the cabin. “You canlet me down. Xe.”
“I will.” The warrior agreed, going over to the bed anddoing just that. She glancedacross the room to where Dori was already tucked in her own bed, and then sheleaned over and blew the candle out.
Only the fire lit the cabin, a low, murmuring crackle thatsounded loud as the night noises faded in from the window.
“Say that again.” Gabrielle snuggled up along one side andput her head on Xena’s shoulder. “Boy this feels good.”
Xena let out a small groan of agreement.
It had been an impossibly long day, at the end of animpossibly long.. Xena blinkedinto the darkness. Impossibly long whatever. She felt her eyes close, and a sense of dislocation cameover her with surprising suddenness, the exhaustion finally claiming her a fewheartbeats before Gabrielle.
A sweet hint of jasmine floated in on the breeze, therustling leaves and the sound of a solitary nightbird singing all that brokethe peace.
For a change.
**
It was late the next morning when Gabrielle’s eyes slowlyopened, and she drew in a breath of the fresh spring air coming in the window.She flexed her fingers against the soft bedding and rolled over, appreciatingthe utter luxury of waking at her own pace in her own bed.
Only thing missing was her partner.
“Mm.” The bard let her eyes close again, as she slowlystretched out her body, easing the stiffness from a long night’s stillnessafter far too much use. The worstache was in her shoulders and she winced as she spread her arms out to eitherside, pushing cautiously through the tightness. “Whoa.”
“Groo?” A clatter of toenails sounded and then Ares stood upon his hind legs, peering at her.
“Hey, boy.” Gabrielle held a hand to his mouth, smiling ashe licked her fingers. Shescratched the underside of his jaw and exhaled. “How are you doing, huh? Wemissed you in that ratty place, let me tell you.”
“Agroo.” Ares chewed her fingers contentedly, until Gabrielleremoved her hand from his mouth and slowly sat up, biting her lip as she swungher legs over the side of the bed and stood. “Oh, sheep tails.”
Ares hopped off the bed and trotted around to meet her asshe limped over to the fireplace, suppressing a grin when she saw their travelworn water pot already near it’s warmer, her cup sitting patiently nearby.
Ares sat down and watched her, his bushy tail slowlybrushing back and forth on the floor.
She set the water to heat and took a seat near the neatlymade fire, holding her hands out to absorb the welcome warmth.
“Agrroo?”
“I think I want to stay home now.” Gabrielle sighed, restingher elbows on her knees. “I think it’s time to do a little traditional familylife thing, you know?”
Ares pink tongue lolled from one side of his mouth, almostas though he was laughing at her.
“Yeah, right.” The bard had to smile. “Here I am talking toa wolf named for the God of War while I wait for my child of two mothers and mylegendary partner the ex Destroyer of Nations to get back to start thistraditional family thing.” She satback in the leather seat of the fireside chair and extended her bare legs,wiggling her toes. “Sometimes, Ares, I really wonder what it would be like tobe the boring old shepherd’s wife I was always afraid I’d become.”
Ares licked his chops. Gabrielle chuckled wryly to herselfand looked around the cabin with a faintly pensive expression.
Shallow, maybe. The bard acknowledged. She let her hand reston the arm of the comfortable chair she was sitting in, it’s back and seat madefrom supple, soft leather. After so many days of sitting on the hard ground, itfelt impossibly decadent.
Gabrielle drummed her fingertips light on the arm.“Decadence is good.” She decided. “You know all that self sacrificing poor andholy stuff? Pooh.”
“Groo.”
“Groo.” She rested her elbow on the chair arm and proppedher head up with her hand, as the fingers of her other played with the hem ofher shift as she let herself get lost in thought for brief time.
Then the sound of the water rattling in the pot made herstir, and she lifted it off the fire just as a knock came at the door.
Gabrielle looked quickly at Ares, but aside from swinginghis big head around, he remained where he was, tongue lolling. “Cmon in.”
The door opened, and Ephiny’s curly head appeared. “You up?”
“Just.” Gabrielle poured the water over a cupful of alreadyprepared herbs. “Come on in andjoin me.”
Ephiny readily entered, letting the door swing shut behindher as she crossed the cabin and took the chair across from her friend andqueen. “Y’know, I used to kid you about all the plush stuff in your place, butyou know something?”
“What?” Gabrielle set another cup down, glancing at hervisitor as she dipped tea herbs from the clay jar on the hearth.
“It’s real easy to get used to it.” Ephiny crossed herankles. “How you feeling?”
Gabrielle handed her a steaming cup, then picked up her ownand sipped from it. After a moment, she licked her lips, catching a hint of aunfamiliar taste in the herbs. “A little stiff.” She admitted, suspecting it wouldn’t be for long.“Still tired. But all in all, I’ve had way worse mornings. You?”
“All in all, I’ve had way worse mornings.” Ephiny produced agrin. “You’re back, Big X’s back, jackasses are gone.. and it’s not evenraining. I like it.” She set the cup down and laced her fingers behind herhead, her expression going more serious. “Lot of things changed down below.Those bastards wrecked what little was left across the river.”
“I know.” Gabrielle leaned back. “Some of the people there..they were good people, Eph.”
The regent nodded.
“One of them.. gods, I’d forgotten about this but justbefore we left Xena got some cakes from one of them that I about died for.”Faint memories flooded into her mind’s eye. “They weren’t all bad.”
“Just like all the nobs up at the upper town weren’t thatgood.” Ephiny remarked, in a practical tone. “I have to admit I enjoyed being an Amazon bitch to themwhile you were gone.”
Mild, green eyes studied her. “Amazon bitch?” Gabrielle’seyebrows lifted.
“Yeah.” Ephiny said, after a brief silence. “Bitch to them,bitch to Cyrene… they were all on my last nerve so I told em.”
The bard’s eyebrows lowered, then contracted. “Huh?”
Ephiny looked up at her. “Then I realized.. so do we..”
Gabrielle blinked, struck speechless.
“Maybe it’s bad time.” Ephiny lifted one hand. “I justwanted to get this out before we just went on with those busy lives ofours.” She watched Gabrielle’sface. “Because it hit me really hard, here you were swept down a damn river towho knows what end saving people’s asses, and all I heard was bitching.”
Gabrielle slid down a little, feeling the herbs Xena hadleft in her cup kicking in and relaxing her muscles. “I guess… “ She started,then paused. “You know something, I don’t even think about why I do the stuffwe do anymore. There used to be areason.. I mean, the right thing to do, or Xena’s redemption.. “ She halfshrugged. “Or whatever.”
“Made a good story.” Ephiny suggested.
The bard nodded. “But I realized… when we were fighting sohard in that damn valley, that I do what I do now just because it’s become apart of who I am.”
The regent nodded somberly. “I was talking to someoneyesterday, and they were saying something about.. well, anyway, we got around to talking about you and Irealized the only time we.. the tribe I mean, thinks about you is when we needsomething.”
Gabrielle looked at the floor. “And the same for me.”
Ephiny shook her head. “That’s not true, Gabrielle. Younever come to us for anything. The one time you needed our help we couldn’tgive it to you.” She said. “Even in the war, you didn’t expect anything fromus. You just did what you did and said following was up to us.”
“Mm.”
“So.” The regent exhaled. “I’m here to say I’m sorry.” Shepaused. “As a representative of our tribe, I mean. Because you know I’d die foryou, right?”
Gabrielle felt her throat close up. “Eph.”
Ephiny leaned forward, and put her hand on the bard’s. “Weowe you better.”
The bard met her eyes, steadily. “Don’t I owe you better,Ephiny? I’m no Amazon and I’m definitely no queen.”
“You never asked to be queen, and you never asked to be madean Amazon, Gabrielle.” Ephiny said, with a tiny smile. “And because you are ourqueen, and you aren’t an Amazon, you’ve made us into a better nation than we’dever have been.”
Gabrielle remained silent, though her conscience wasshockingly abashed when her inner voice readily agreed with what Ephiny hadsaid. She slowly sipped her tea,watching Ephiny fidget with her own cup across from her.
“I wanna be you when I grow up, Gabrielle.” Ephiny finallysaid, with a rakish grin.
“You’re nuts.” The bard responded. “But thank you.” Shepropped her head up on one hand. “Sometimes I feel like a fraud around youguys. Like everyone rolls theireyes when they see me and wishesMelosa were back.”
She’d come a long way with Ephiny, to be able to say that.Gabrielle watched her friend’s face, seeing the shifting emotions there. Sheremembered suddenly all the things they had between them, from the moment she’dtaken the right, to Xenon’s birth, to Xena’s death and beyond and she knew intruth that Ephiny had seen both the worst and the best of her.
The Amazon regent gazed at her cup, then she set it down onthe low table before she got to her feet and crossed to where Gabrielle wassitting, crouching down next to her and putting her lips close to the bard’sear. “Me, too.” She whispered. “But don’t say anything to anyone.. it’ll screwmy image.”
Gabrielle chuckled, and reached up to cup Ephiny’s head andpressed it against her own. The uneasiness she’d been feeling eased, and sheturned her head to look the Amazon in the eye and found a truth of friendshipthere she’d only half expected. “I think together, we make a pretty good Queenof the Amazons.” She responded.
“We do all right.” Ephiny didn’t reject the statement. “Andwe’ve got good help along.”
Gabrielle nodded. “We do.” She thought about the valley, and the anger, and, as Xenahad often taught her – she let it go for a present reality that was far morepalatable.
Life happened. “We’re a lucky pair of sheeps tails, Eph.Y’know?”
“Um.. speakingof tails.. “ Ephiny took a seat next to her on the floor.
The bard leaned on her chair arm. “Do you?”
“Yeah. I need your advice.” The regent admitted. “If youdon’t mind me asking.”
“Sure.” Gabrielle answered readily.
“It’s about sex.”
“Um.”
**
Xena stood quietly in the crossroads, where a lifetime agoshe’d had traffic halted to let her load of thatch pass through.
Most of the town was off in the nearby woods, felling treesto start the rebuilding process. Xena walked over to the well and sat down on the edge of it, watchingDori run along the broken fences, eyes vivid as she searched for something inthe underbrush.
The muddy ground of her birthplace scuffed under her boots,and she crossed her arms over her cloth covered chest as she absorbed thevacant silence around her.
“Boo!” Dori picked up something and came running over toher. “Look!”
Xena spread her boots and held her arms out, as Doriclambered up her, sprawling heedlessly into her lap as she thrust a muddy fistin the warrior’s face. “Whatcha got there?”
“Gots a pitty rock, Boo.” Dori displayed her find.
“Yeah?” Xena took the bit of stone and examined it. “You’reright, Dori. That’s real pretty.” The warrior confirmed. “Bet you can find a lot more up where we live now,huh?”
Dori turned and regarded the empty square. “No people, Boo.”She observed. “Shh. Like that.”
Xena looked around, then gave her daughter a wry smile.“You’re definitely my kid, Dori.” She told the child. “What do you think aboutthat, huh?”
“Good.” Dori kicked her feet out, narrowly missing herbeloved buddy’s knees. “Boo, c’n we go gets fishes? No body like fishes, and Isay to go, and go, and no go.”
“Sure.” The warrior said. “How about you and me and yourmama go out tomorrow and spend all day getting fishes. That work for you?”
“Yes!”
There was ascuff of footsteps, and Xena turned, spotting two small figures running towardsthem. “Look Dor.. I think your friends are coming.” She released her daughter as Dori scrambled off her lap andbolted for her cousins.
The two little boys were visibly happy to see Dori. They allmet near the steps to the inn, and then with giggles audible to Xena theydropped to their knees and squirmed under the porch and out of sight just asGranella appeared after them, pausing and changing direction as she recognizedXena near the well.
The warrior took a moment to school her expression into oneof mild welcome and folded her arms over her chest as her sister in law neared.“Morning.”
“Morning.” Thesmaller woman peered around. “You see where those munchkins ran off to?”
Xena indicated the inn with a casual wave. “Under theporch.” She replied. “Dori’s with em.”
“Ah.” Granellanodded. “They were missing her this morning. I think they think of her as asister, of sorts.”
The double meaning was not lost on Xena.
“So he’s said.” Granella lifted her hand and set a bucketdown near the well. “The cistern back of our place got knocked in.” Sheexplained. “Toris is trying to fix it.”
Xena scratched her jaw, knowing too well her brother’s skillwith his hands. Or lack thereof. “That’s a tough job.”
“Mm.” Granella sat down on the edge of the well next to her.“Well, I’m sure he knows who he can go to for help.” She remarked. “Since yourname’s all over this one.” She turned and released the catch on the wellbucket, lowering it down into the depths.
Xena remembered those long days spent chiseling the rockjust so, fitting it into the broad circle under the warm sun in a time thatseemed so far distant from where she was now it was hard to comprehend. One ofthe many tasks she’d taken on herself during that long month when Gabrielle hadgone to the Amazons. “Yeah.” She said, after a brief silence. “Had some time onmy hands back then.”
“We’re not going to have much of that now.” Granella said.“The gods only know how we’ll get the fields back under plow before springends.. it’s like we’re back to the beginning again.”
Xena nodded. “We are.”
The bucket reached the top and Granella hoisted it to theedge of the well. “Happy about that?” She asked, glancing at the warrior. “I know you didn’t much like the newtown.”
Truth? Xena felt a deep desire stirring in her, a reclaimingof who she was that had started on the previous day. “Yes.” She answeredquietly. “I’m sorry people died in the flood, but I’m not sorry that’s gone.”She met Granella’s eyes evenly. “And it’s not going to happen again.”
Granella balanced the bucket and let her fingers dabble inthe water. “Is that really fair, Xena?” She asked, in serious tone. “This place… the people in it aren’t yourpersonal property.”
Xena smiled humorlessly. “As long as I live.” She said.“This will be my hometown. And as long as it’s my hometown, the fate of it’s inmy hands.”
Granella peered at her in surprise. “Xena, I don’t think…”
“So I don’t care what people think.” The warrior continued,with a half shrug. “People want to think I’m still a bloodthirsty killer? MaybeI am.” Her eyes searched the area.“I’m tired of trying to avoid the consequences of being who and what I am.”
“Ares’ Chosen?” A tinge of skepticism colored Granella’svoice.
“Ares’ blood.” Xena replied mildly, her tongue tasting thewords and finding them stingingly potent. For so long she’d fought the merestnotion of it, and now, through the touch of the Sword – she’d come to acurious, unexpected peace with the idea.
Life was damned ironic sometimes. Especially hers.
There was an absolute, dead silence for a long moment, thenwith a clatter, the bucket fell back down the well as Granella lost her grip onit and she stepped back, holding her hands up to ward off the splashing water.
Xena remained where she was, and allowed the sweet liquid todampen her skin, licking her lips and relishing the taste of it.
Granella turned and looked.
Dori got up and bolted for the well, her small, compact bodymoving with a peculiar grace and easy rhythm that even now was easily recognizable.
“Eeee!” Dori launched herself with total abandon through theair at Xena, tumbling over as the warrior caught her and she landed squarely inher arms. “Boo! Look!” She held her hand out, which was full of something longand squiggly. “Aminal!”
“ Yeah? Where’d you get that? Tell me.” Xena smiled, thenlooked up at Granella, her expression shifting instantly from doting tosomething else. “You can stop wondering.” She said, in a quiet tone. “She’smine.”
Granella looked like she’d been hit by a cart. “Wow. Okay,sorry. Give me a minute here I.. “ She lifted a slightly shaking hand up andpushed her hair back. “Xena, Inever thought you were lying.”
“No.” The warrior said, softly. “You never thought I
The former Amazon looked away.
“Boo, aminal likes you.” Dori observed, as the lizard in hergrip opened his mouth and attempted to chomp the warrior’s lower jaw. “See?”
Xena lowered her eyes to her daughter’s face, which was litwith glee. “He’s gonna bite me, shortie. That’s owie.” She reminded the child.“What’s his name?”
“Izaard.” Dori supplied. “He was under dere, Boo. He wasmaking a house, and an aminal chased him, and then he…” She opened her hand andgiggled as the lizard made his escape, running right up Xena’s face and intoher hair. “Go go go, Izzard!”
Xena reached up and caught the intruder, then held her handout and let him jump off to the well.
“Boo!” Dori climbed up and over the warrior’s shoulder,almost taking off after the lizard with very little regard for her own safety.“Izzard! C’mere!” She grabbed Xena’s extended arm and hung from it, then leapedoff and chased after the escaping creature. “C’mon! Lolo! Get’im!”
A little silence fell around them, as the children ran off.Finally Granella turned, and leaned on one side of the stonework, watching Xenawith somber eyes. “I thought I had that all settled.” She admitted, her gazedropping and studying the wooden bucket haul. “I told everyone it didn’t matterto me.”
“So did I.” Xena sat down across from her. “So we bothlied.” She removed a bit of mudfrom her knee, deposited there by Dori’s boots.
Granella remained quiet for a few moments. “I was so angry.”She said. “At him, at Gabrielle… and then all those months to sit and stew over it.” A sigh. “I hatedthem. About the only person I didn’t hate over it was you.” She looked up atXena. “How did you get through that, Xena? Didn’t it kill you?”
The warrior looked up at the sky, watching the fluffy whitepuffs drift over her. “Tell you something.” She said. “One thing I’ve learnedin this barrel ride down the River Styx my life has been.”
“What’s that?”
Xena turned her head. “If love doesn’t kill you, it makesyou whole.”
Granella blinked at her in silence.
“Gabrielle’s need for this child meant more to me than how Ifelt about how she did it.” The warrior said, after a brief silence. “And afterDori was born, it didn’t matter.”
“Wish I could say that.” Granella admitted, in a quiet voice.
Xena found herself understanding far more than her sister inlaw would have imagined. “My brother is many things.” She met Granella’s eyes.“But one thing he has is a true heart, and once he gave it, it stayed.”
The ex Amazon merely stared at her for a bit, then she shookher head. “Funny.” She said. “He says pretty much the same thing aboutyou.” She reached out and brieflytouched Xena’s arm, then turned and picked up her bucket. “Gotta get the kidsin for lunch. Nice talking to you, Xena.”
“Anytime.” Xena murmured, with a half shake of her own head.“We’re all such clueless idiots sometimes.” She started off in the other direction, towards where she’dseen Dori disappear. “Hope Gabrielle’s having a better morning than I am sofar.”
“Xena!” Cyrene appeared on the porch of the inn. “Here..quickly!”
Oh boy. The warrior altered her path. Boy, oh boy.
**
Xena heard the yelling as her hands hit the door to the inn,and she pushed the wooden surface inward without hesitation, sending it flyingback to hit against the wall with a satisfying bang.
It achieved it’s purpose. The rest of the inhabitants of thebig room froze, and then turned, several backing away a step as the warriorstrode into the room and claimed the center of it, balling her fists andplanting them on her hips.
The room was full of what she thought of as oldtimers- theoriginal citizens of the Amphipolis she’d come back to years ago, the men andwomen who had, against her expectations, accepted her into their lives againeven despite the history between them.
“Xena.” Johan had been standing before the kitchen door,both hands lifted in defense. Now he dropped them and relaxed a little. “Wewere just talking about you.”
“I know.” Xena said. “Gabrielle probably heard you from ourcabin.”
Johan blinked. “Aye, well.”
The oldest of the women walked over to her. “Xena. Justlisten a minute…”
Xena lifted both hands up, palms outmost. “No.” She said,firmly. “You all listen to me, for a change.” She walked around the center of the inn. “I’ve had aboutenough of all the damned opinions around here lately.”
“Xena.” The woman interrupted.
“Granted, my being around isn’t always a picnic, but it sure as Hades doesn’t meanyou’ve got a right to give up what’s ours to a pack of scroungy outsiders.”
“But,, Xena..” Johan eased around to one side of her. “Nowlisten, girl…”
“Not to mention you all thought you’d gotten what you couldout of us, then decided to take us out of the picture while you built yourdream city there.”
“Xena, that’s not what…”
Xena rounded on the woman. “Isn’t it?
“Ah.. isn’t that between us and Gabrielle?” One of the oldermen bravely spoke up, then turned brick red as everyone in the room turnedaround and looked at him with remarkably uniform withering stares.
Everyone looked back over at Xena. The warrior put her hands back on her hips and exhaled. “She’sgiven me permission to speak in her behalf.” She said, quietly. “So on
“Xena.” The woman, one of the shopkeepers who had a clothstore near the inn, made another attempt. She bravely reached out and took holdof Xena’s wrists, her fingers only going halfway round them. “Xena, we’resorry.”
The warrior eyed her warily.
“It’s like this.” The older man said. “We worked like dogs,we did, for a real long time.”
“I know.” Xena said.
“See a chance to make good, you gotta grab it.” The old mansaid, practically. “Had all those merchants coming to us, wanting things,wanting angles.. you weren’t here.”
“No.” Xena said. “I was busy having your taxes remanded andyour levy dropped.” She reminded them. “We both paid for that.”
There was a moment of silence, then the older woman sighed. “Asdid we, Xena.” She said. “We lost a good friend, as well.” She added. “But.. Iknow.. and I think it was because you were gone for so long..
Cyrene snorted.
Xena instinctively wanted to disregard the offer, a dozenfurther accusations ready on the tip of her tongue she’d been holding in forweeks.
“Them folks just don’t think women should run things.” Theman shrugged. “We wanted their business. You know how it is.” He added. “Cyrene,you went along with them!”
“Now.. “ Johan stepped forward, his voice angry. “Just holdon there.”
Cyrene put her hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s true.”
“Well…”
“Yes, you did say that!” The older woman said. “You mean shedidn’t?”
A squabble of voices rose, each more strident than the onebefore. Xena suddenly felt a headache coming on, and her patience slipped, theacrimony causing her body to tense uncomfortably.
It occurred to her, that she might just possibly be gettingcrabbier in her old age. “Hey!” She let out a yell, causing the pottery near the kitchen to rattle.
The noise stopped, and everyone shifted uneasily. Eyes wentto Xena, a mixture of fear, resentment, and in a few cases, regret.
A distinct silence followed that. Finally, Johan cleared histhroat. “Not so easy to do that, Xena.”
Xena walked over to the nearest table and sat down in achair she’d made with her own hands. She rested her elbows on a table she’dalso made, and propped her chin up on her fists as she regarded them. “If wewant to move forward, we’ve got to.”
“Well, but listen!” The man raised his voice. “We can’t justforget everything! We came so close.. “
“Dennas, you’re a fool!” Cyrene yelled back.
“You’re the one’s said we should bring them all in!” Dennasshouted. “Everyone was yah, yah.. bring it on.. now we’re taken to task? To Hades with you all!”
“HEY!” Xena let out another yell. “SHUT UP!”
The crowd fell silent again.
“Maybe we should just leave.” Xena spoke into it, with aquiet resignation, then she fell silent, and the silence lengthened to anuncomfortable degree as the villagers all exchanged looks with each other andtried not to stare at the warrior in their midst.
At last, Cyrene broke the stillness. She walked over andtook the seat next to her daughter, and clasped her hands together. “I had adream.” She said. “Before the floods, I had a dream that you and Gabrielle leftus, moved away from here, and you were in terrible trouble.”
“Mom.” Gabrielle entered from the inner hall, makingeveryone turn at her lighter voice. “That pretty much describes our life mostof the time. Being in serious trouble, I mean.”
Cyrene turned to look at her. “You were both dying.”
Gabrielle came over and sat down on the other side of Xena. “Wedo that a lot.” She said. “I thinkthat’s why we always hold this place to be special – because for us it’s aplace of healing, and home.” Her voice gentled. “We don’t want that to change.So please – let’s stop the yelling, and just move on.”
The older man studied her, then he reached up to scratch hisjaw. “I guess I could go with just starting fresh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” The older woman nodded. “We really are sorry, Xena.And you too, Gabrielle.”
“Yeah.” One of the other men agreed. “Let’s top an ale, andput it all behind us.”
Xena glanced over at her partner. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” The bard’s mild, green eyes blinked at her.
The warrior ran her fingers through her hair and straightenedup. “Nevermind. Just the next time – you do all the talking.”
Gabrielle looked around at the crowd, who were now millingaround, the atmosphere lightening. “Don’t I always do all the talking?” Sheasked, in a puzzled tone. “Anyway.. we can’t leave.” She lowered her voice. “You’renot going to believe what Eph just told me.”
Xena looked at her warily, but before she could ask, thechairs next to them scraped and they were surrounded by what was left of thevillage council of elders. “Hi.”
One of the men plunked down two mugs of ale in front ofthem, and sat down. “Let’s talk about the future, then.”
Gabrielle leaned on her chair arm, watching their faces. “Whydo I get the feeling this is going to be one of those ‘be careful what you askfor’ moments of my life?” She muttered under her breath.
“Mm.” Xena sighed. “I think I’ll go hunt lizards with Dori.”
“Chicken.”
“Better a hen than a..mpf.”
**
“My headhurts.” Gabrielle nestled hercheek against Xena’s shoulder, as the warrior obligingly massaged the back ofher neck. “I don’t know if I can handle all this change at once.”
“Mmph.” Xena grunted softly. They were in front of the firein their new cabin, it was after dusk, and the end of what had turned out to bea very long day.
“Why is it, whenever I think I want something, it turns outto be not really what I wanted?” The bard asked, in an aggrieved tone.
“Do I count?”
Gabrielle was briefly silent, then she chuckled. “Boy, didyou just get me.” She admitted. “No, you don’t count. You’re the silver liningto my life.”
“I think that’s my line.” Xena demurred. “Cause of the twoof us, I’m undoubtedly the black cloud.”
“People haven’t heard me sing.” Gabrielle said. “Thatopinion could change, y’know?”
Xena bit her gently on the edge of her ear. “Punk.”
“Sometimes.” The bard agreed, closing her eyes and exhaling.“Xena, I can be the reeve of the village, or I can be the queen of the Amazons.I can’t be both at the same time.”
The warrior snuggled a bit closer, reaching over to pick upa goblet and taking a sip of it’s contents before setting it back down again.“Damned bad timing.” She agreed. “Eph surprised me.”
“You knew they wanted a kid.” Gabrielle objected.
“Mm.” Xena grunted softly again. “Don’t know that I wouldhave gone about it like she did.”
The bard picked up the goblet and sipped from it. “You mean,while Pony was gone?”
Xena nodded.
Gabrielle slowly rolled the sweet honey wine in her mouth,before she swallowed it. “I can see both sides of that.” She said, after abit. “It’s hard for me to thinkabout doing what Eph did, but I can understand her not wanting to…” She paused.“I know she didn’t want to hurt Pony.”
“True.” The warrior studied the fire. “Might have beeneasier on me if you’d gone that route.”
The bard lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “I’m sorry,Xena.”
“I’m not.” Xena replied in a mild tone. “It would have beeneasier, but I’d have hated you not telling me.” She took the cup from herpartner and drank from it. “She’s screwed either way.” She leaned over and gaveGabrielle a kiss on the lips. “Don’t you dare offer to tell Pony for her.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Gabrielle licked her lower lip.“Besides, I think Eph made a good choice, because Pony knows what role Mikahwas playing in Athens.” She said. “So I think that would make a difference.”
“Might.” The warrior agreed. She set the cup down and puther arms back around Gabrielle, letting her cheek rest against the bard’s head.“What the Hades – maybe they’ll all adopt him and use him as the nation’sstud.”
Gabrielle rolled her head around and peered up at herpartner.
“He’s cute.” Xena’s dark lashes fluttered at her.
“So are lambs.” The bard finally said. “Doesn’t meaneveryone should make out with them.”
Xena chuckled softly. “Just go with it, Gabrielle. Let Ephfigure a way to tell her. They’ll be fine – I think once Pony gets over theshock she’ll be all right with it. Especially since it’s not her.”
“Hmph.”
They were both quiet for a while, resting together on thelow, padded couch as the scent of cinnamon floated gently through the air.
“You think we’ll ever find out what was up in that valley?”Gabrielle asked, after a while. “Was it real, Xe? I get further and furtherfrom believing that every minute.”
Xena sighed. “Truly, I don’t know.” She admitted. “I want tobelieve my senses, but most of that was.. it was too fantastic, Gabrielle.Maybe it was a dream, from the gods to test us.”
“Test us.” Thebard pondered. “You know, that’s a lot easier to believe than singingelephants.”
“Mm. Sure is.”
Finally Gabrielle shifted, and slid down onto her back, restingher head on Xena’s leg. She folded her hands over her stomach and regarded thethatch ceiling. “I was thinking just this morning, about how I’d like to spendsome time here, and just live life with you, and with Dori.”
“Uh huh.”
“So .. now that I’m lying here thinking of asking you to runaway with me someplace, does that mean I’m just going nuts?”
Xena laughed, and ran her fingers through her partner’s palehair.
“Damn it, Xena… I’m serious. I feel like I’m going crazy.”The bard complained. “I don’t want to be in charge of all those people and tellthem what to do.”
“But?”
Gabrielle sighed. “I don’t want them telling me what to doeither.”
“You’re not crazy.” Xena extended her long legs out andcrossed her ankles. “That’s how I ended up running an army. I hated listeningto anyone else.”
“Mm.” The bard rolled over and draped her arm over Xena’slegs. “I guess.” She exhaled. “Maybe I’m just still tired.”
“Maybe.” Xena traced the edge of her jawline, then ran herfingertip over and across her ear. “We’ll work it out.”
“They’re gonna be surprised.” Gabrielle said. “SpeciallyBennu. He’s not going to forgive those guys for splitting on us.”
“Mmm.. probably not.” Xena rumbled softly, as her handsslowly wandered over Gabrielle’s body. “But I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
Gabrielle chucked the worries of the day aside as sheconcentrated on unlacing the neckline ties of the shift covering her partner’sbody. The scent of their soap tickled her nose as she succeeded, putting a lineof tiny kisses across the curve of Xena’s breast.
Xena’s hands moved down her sides, and along her hips, andreturned, a leisurely, knowing tracing of her that made Gabrielle’s breathingshorten as their bodies brushed together and Xena’s leg slid between hers andtension in her guts erupted into a irresistible craving.
She lost track of what she was doing as Xena’s lips nibbleddown her neck, and they rolled together to one side as she felt her partnertake control and nip relentlessly at her.
A touch along her side, fingertips tracking down across herbelly and down her inner thigh and all she could do was hang on, her breathcoming too fast for her to do much else. She felt Xena’s teeth close gently ona nipple, and knew a moment of erotic danger that quickly passed as the touchwent from teasing to intense and she let out a low groan.
“Mine.” A low growl answered her, warm breath leaving atrail of goosebumps across her skin, as the touch slid up the inside of herthigh and became very intimate.
“Yes.” Gabrielle managed to get out, just before she grabbedhold of Xena’s body as her own started to convulse , wave after wave ofsensation as Xena just kept nipping up and down and…
Gods. Gabrielle felt her whole body shaking in response toit, as the touch gentled and the nips evolved into gentle kisses she barely hadthe strength to return.
She was glad enough to just wrap her arms around Xena’s bodyand let the shivers fade, until she gathered up enough energy to return the favor.
Xena’s body was warm, and a little damp, and she could tastea hint of salt on her tongue as she tasted a spot just between herbreasts. Then she felt herselfpulled around and over, and she was laying sprawled over Xena, her bodypressing against the warrior’s as she felt the heat ignite in her all overagain.
“Tired?” Xena’s voice in her ear, teasing and so verywelcome.
“I never get tired of you.” The bard did some nipping of herown, rewarded by a sharp intake of breath from her partner.
A loud noise stopped them both in their tracks, and Xena’sbody tensed as she sat up while Gabrielle rolled off her and went from herknees to her feet in one smooth motion.
“Mama!” Dori came pattering out of her room, Flameballtucked under her arm. “Come see! Come see my friend!” Her eyes were lit with excitement. “Come see, andwe can go get fishes!
Caught in a cross of sexual and protective instincts,Gabrielle responded by sneezing ferociously, the force knocking her backwardsto sit down again next to Xena. “Sheeptails.”
Xena collected her scattered wits and stood up. “What areyou talking about, shortie? Nobody’s in that room are they?” Her eyes went toher sword. “Or do you mean Oogy or something?”
“Friend.” Dori took hold of her half on/half off shift andstarted pulling her along. “Come!”
The warrior paused to grab the sword as she was hauledunceremoniously across the room, and after a moment of indecision, Gabriellegot up and followed her.
They entered the small room that now held Dori’s bed, andthe vast majority of her toys after a reorganization effort earlier in theday. It was comfortable, and therewas lantern nailed near the door that held a candle to light the inside.
“Okay, now..” Gabrielle eased past her partner, who wasstanding in the middle of the room, looking around. “There’s no one here,honey. That wasn’t nice. You scared Boo.”
“Look.” Dori put Flameball down and went over to the window,pulling herself up onto the sill and sending both her parents into a suddenlunge to keep her from toppling over. They landed on their knees near theopening with both legs held in two sets of very strong hands. “Mama!”
“Dori, you’re going to fall out the window and get owie!”Gabrielle yelped. “What in..”
“Mama, look!”
Gabrielle fell silent. Xena made a noncommittal noise deepin her throat.
The baby animal squealed and made a headlong rush for thewall, waving it’s nose in the air and bugling as it spotted them.
“Look, mama! My friend!” Dori yodeled happily.
Gabrielle and Xena exchanged looks.
Xena propped her head up on the sill and extended her handto the baby animal. “Guess we’ll think of something.”
“Guess we will.”
**
The End. (for now)