A/N: Set between The Greater Good and Callisto. This will be my first attempt at a chaptered story. Aiming for a threeshot.

Slivers of orange lit the dewy, early rising sky. Through a canopy of trees that shimmered with life as woodland natives stirred, the sun cast a strawberry-blonde sheen on Gabrielle's normally red, red hair.

The young woman worked fast, irritation spurring forth every reach, every grab, every drop and loosening of fingers. She tied sacks with rope that had long since calloused her hands, cleaned the remnants of last night's meal from her weaponised frying pan, and glared hard at her tall, tanned counterpart.

Xena was stoic, simply watching her trusted (read: tolerated) sidekick. Her chiseled frame cast a shadow across the ashes of the morning's breakfast fire, on which Gabrielle had cooked the most delectable eggs Xena had ever scoffed down, before it had been snuffed out in her sudden, frustrated haste.

"What?" Xena had asked through a mouthful of poached yolk, "You had no problem riding Argo when we left Salmoneus and his people only days ago." She swallowed. "I don't see why you're being unreasonable now."

Gabrielle had huffed, stood upright and brushed down her tattered, rusty skirt. "That was different, Xena."

Grabbing the staff she'd been gifted during her stay with an Amazonian tribe, she'd made a point to jab it into the ground beside her. Xena, however, was unfazed. Her faithful companion had of course continued, as she'd expected. Sometimes Xena hated how well Gabrielle had perfected her ability to talk, and talk, and talk. She was going to make a fantastic bard.

"I had to grow. I had to face my fears in order to take on the duties you were leaving behind. You were dying, Xena. At one point I thought you were gone. You do remember that, right? My courageous fight to defend your lifeless body, which in actuality wasn't lifeless."

Xena raised a dark brow. "And?"
"So I was able to overcome my fear and ride Argo. And I was obviously still riding that high when we left the village - figuratively speaking."

At this point, Xena had rolled her eyes and, as she'd mastered through enough practice, suppressed a chuckle at Gabrielle's antics. She stood to look her dead in the eye and cast a knowing smirk toward her.

"Gabrielle."
"Yes, Xena?"

"It's too dangerous to risk leaving you on foot. I told you, Talmadeus' men have been tracking us since we defeated his army and spared Salmoneus' life. They're waiting for the right time to attack. I'm willing to bet there's an ambush not far up ahead and there will be too many men for us to fight, so I want to be prepared to make an escape. You're riding on Argo with me - whether you like it or not."

"No," Gabrielle had stubbornly refused, in a manner typical of her. "I'm not getting anywhere near that saddle. Argo and I are just testing the waters of our friendship, you know? Seeing how things go - at a very slow pace. And besides," she'd chuckled nervously, knowing how foolish she sounded. "You can't make me." It was worth a try, right?

Xena couldn't believe what she'd heard. Sure, Gabrielle could bluff, but to the woman whose corpse she'd risked life and limb for in order to honour her dying wish? Xena merely shot her a hardened glare.

"Oh yeah?"

With a swish of the head, a deflated sigh and a hand on her hip, Gabrielle made it known that yes, she did in fact realise the incredulity of the words that had slipped from her tongue.

"Okay, so you can. But I won't like it. And," raising her staff in an attempt to look threatening, she'd narrowed her eyes before continuing, "I won't go down without a fight. I'm an Amazon Princess, as you well know. I'm stronger than I look."

The amusement reflected in Xena's cloudy blue eyes betrayed her intimidating stance.

"I know, Gabrielle. Right now, I know you better than you know yourself. And I know if you'd only cast your doubts aside, you'd be capable of trusting Argo and riding behind me."

And so Gabrielle had given in to the irritation inkling inside of her, tired of always being ordered around. Granted, she'd wanted to accompany Xena to help her in her quest for redemption, to learn about her world and take part in any adventure that might come their way - but she hadn't anticipated that adventure would include horseback riding; a fear she'd held onto since childhood.

So it was with no small amount of fervour in her step that she'd packed up their belongings and trudged away from their makeshift camp, leaving Xena to sit alone atop a mound in the earth and wait for her return. Argo, the palomino steed and source of Gabrielle's ire, whinnied and trotted over to the warrior princess.

"It's all right, girl," Xena soothed, taking her sword from its sheath and grabbing a rock with which to sharpen it. "She'll be back once she's calmed down."

But Argo, though clever and capable of understanding her master on most occasions, didn't seem reassured by the words. Xena paid her hesitation no mind until a shrill cry echoed from the distance. Curse the gods; Argo could always tell when something was afoot. Sheathing her sword once more, Xena bounded into action.

"Gabrielle!"