Before I begin: everything that has happened to them... whoosh, gone. There will be some exceptions but otherwise, I'm doing this the way I prefer. That also means Xena is going to be a tad more friendlier :)
Ancient Greece, in a period of rest and leisure. It's people lived in peace and joy... until a certain little girl was born in Poteidaia. Her name was Gabrielle and she was a hand/mouth full. Well, growing up she was. Blonde hair, green eyes and just evidently beautiful. But there was another born a few years before who wasn't exactly as mouthy as Gabrielle. Born in Amphipolis was Xena. An adventurous young one. Having two brothers she was very close with, Toris and Lyceus, she was always up to something with them. The three of them were always intrigued by the study of swordplay and so on so as they grew up together they would practice fighting each other. The siblings were very good at it. Black hair and blue eyes and was very good looking. Xena and Toris had the same looks but Lyceus had sandy blonde hair. Toris was the oldest and Lyceus was the youngest, putting Xena in the middle. When Xena was about fifteen Lyceus died of a disease. It hurt xena and Toris so bad they had both made a pact to learn all that they could about medicines and overall wellness. Gabrielle on the other hand was quite the story teller and comedian. Since she did have a little sister, Lila, she was often in charge of watching over her and when she would, Gabrielle would tell stories and try her best to make Lila laugh. These two different girls were both talented and skilled at what they did. Now albeit they wouldn't meet each other for a long while they would eventually.
Ten years later after the death of Lyceus...
Xena, on her way home from Athens, rode on her loyal horse, Argo. They made their way down a trail and stopped when Xena had heard a noise. It sounded like a flock of birds. But it would've had to have been a really big flock of them. Xena shook her head and continued on. About fifteen minutes went by and she heard the same sound again but this time she had realized she was getting closer to the sound. Xena got off Argo and pulled out her sword. Getting slowly closer to the foliage and waiting patiently to see what was producing all the noise and commotion. Behind the bushes and shrubbery Xena discovered where the noises were emitting from. A wild boar had just been hit with an arrow from a man in a group of five. Xena turned around, put her sword back in its sheath and got back on Argo. With a sigh of relief she took off on Argo. If there was one thing xena was really thankful for was her spectacular hearing and felt blessed that the hunting party got to the boar before the boar got to her. Yet she was confused how she mixed up a boar and hunters with a flock of birds.
"I'm just tired I guess," she muttered.
It would be a few hours until the sun would set and she'd stop for the night. When she did, she started a small fire, set out her bed roll, brushed and fed Argo, then she fed herself and went to sleep. The next morning she woke up early, put all of her belongings away into the saddle bags, fed herself and Argo then headed back to the trail that would lead her back to Amphipolis.
Meanwhile in Poteidaia...
Gabrielle stood in the field next to her family's barn. Leaning on a staff staring into the sky, she waited patiently as the herd of goats grazed. On days such as this she would often come up with ridiculous ideas.
"If these goats are grazing; they are eating but they are also trimming the grass." Gabrielle nodded to herself.
Just then her sister, Lila, got her attention from the barn. She called for Gabrielle to come over to where she was.
"May I help you Lila?" Gabrielle asked.
"Poor choice of words, sis. Come on and help me get Bion's head unstuck from that stupid old tree he keeps trying to climb."
"When will that boy learn?!" Gabrielle said as she followed Lila.
The two ladies made their way to the tree that the young boy had got his head stuck in. Gabrielle has first scolded him but then examined Bion's predicament. Finding a good angle to turn his head, Gabrielle managed to get the curious boy out of the oblong opening in the tree.
"How on earth does one manage this?" Gabrielle looked at Bion mockingly.
"No one knows. Not even the gods themselves could answer your question," Bion said dramatically.
"Ha ha, you're just so funny. Now go on and do whatever you're supposed to be doing and you stay away from this here tree. Understand?"
Bion nodded his head enthusiastically, thanked Gabrielle, gave her a hug, and then took off. Almost all of the children and young people in Poteidaia adored Gabrielle because she could tell stories, solve problems and liven up her surroundings. Yet she could also be a stubborn smart ass who sometimes needed to watch her own mouth, but it wasn't too often she behaved in such a way.
Gabrielle and Lila walked back to the field and kept each other entertained as the goats "trimmed" the grass.
Later that day...
Xena finally got to the village of Poteidaia, where she could stop for the night and stay at an inn. As she entered the little village she stopped and got off Argo. She thought Poteidaia was a nice place with its people in a minor hustle. Finally, the tall dark haired woman spotted a sign signafying an inn. Xena brought Argo to the stables and promised her she would be back soon.
As she approached the inn she noticed many people were looking her way but she decided it wasn't enough to be declared as staring. She chuckled at her own thought and went inside. Even as she paid for a room she still got looks. Maybe it's the leather. She smirked.
Xena brought her saddle bags to her room and scoped the place out. There was a bed and next to it was a night stand with a water basin sitting on top. That was about it but she didn't mind. She'd only be there for the night. Before she left the room she changed into something that wouldn't give everyone a reason to really gaze upon her. So she left her room in an old and very used chiton.
Xena left the inn and went to look around for oats she could feed to Argo. Once she did she went to the stables and fed her beautiful golden haired horse.
"Who's the most beautiful mare Greece has ever seen?" She asked Argo.
As a reply, the horse whinnied.
"Yes that's right," Xena said as she pet the horse's head, "you are."
Suddenly she heard someone else come in to the stable so she straightened up and tried to zero in with her ears. Xena assumed it was a man that walked in. About her own height, slightly underweight and had a welcoming disposition.
"Hi there, young lady, welcome to Poteidaia. I'm Herodotus and you are?" The man cheerfully said.
"Hello, sir. I'm Xena." They both shook hands.
"Well hello, Xena. Where do you come from?" He asked.
"From Amphipolis," She smiled.
"Amphipolis! Hey that's not too far from here. You must be on your way back home. Let me guess... Thessaly?" Herodotus guessed.
"Not bad, Athens actually," she corrected him.
"My goodness young lady! That's quite a ride! If you don't mind me asking, uh, what were you doing in Athens?" Herodotus asked politely.
Xena thought as quickly as she could and lied to him, "visiting family." She didn't know how he would react if she told him she was studying in secret.
"Oh how nice," the nice man said with a warm smile. "Well Xena, are you already check in at the inn?"
"Yes, I am."
"Wonderful. If you're interested they start serving some of the real good food in about half an hour and lucky you, my eldest daughter will be storytelling tonight."
"How lovely, I'll have to go now, I haven't had good food since I left Athens."
"Perfect! Now I'm going to go back and check on my goats. Nice to meet you Xena!" Herodotus said.
"You too Herodotus!" Xena said back as she watched the kind man walk out of the stables.
"Hmm, well I do like to listen to stories. Why not?" Xena told Argo who had whinnied back.
Dinner time at the inn...
Gabrielle sat in the front of the dining area. People from all over the village came in and managed to find somewhere to sit. Either on a bench, a chair, or the floor.
Gabrielle wanted to begin after she knew for sure that at least all the regulars were present. Five quick minutes had gone by and that was when she started.
Xena sat back in the corner of the dining room like a complete loner. No, but really she liked to sit in such a spot so she could keep an eye on everything. It was an instinctual habit of hers.
Xena listened intently to the story being told by the young woman in front. She had noticed how well the blonde woman illustrated the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. She had noticed how everyone in the room stay as quiet as they could be to hear the lovely woman tell this story. Feeling as if she were in a trance, Xena could only pay attention to the talented bard.
After Gabrielle had finished the myth of Orpheus's journey to get his wife, Eurydice, back from the underworld, she was given a few dinars by her fellow villagers. Gabrielle thanked them all, wished them goodnight and made her way out of the inn and back to her house. When she got there she was startled by Lila who had beat her home from the inn by a few minutes.
"Gabrielle did you see that woman sitting in the back of the dining hall?" Lila inquired.
Gabrielle nodded, "Vaguely. Why?"
"I've never seen her before. She looked like she knew how to read!"
"Lila, need I remind you that you, your self, can also read," Gabrielle said.
"Well of course because you taught me how but still! And did you notice that she was sitting alone?" Lila mentioned to her sister.
"What? How could that be? She's way too beautiful to be alone like that," Gabrielle said thoughtlessly.
"So you really did get a good look at her!" Lila exclaimed.
Busted. "So what, Lila? You can see everything and everyone from the front!"
Lila smiled teasingly, "Maybe you'd better go to sleep, sis." And then Lila walked to her shared room and said quietly with an evil grin, "so you can dream about miss educated."
Gabrielle's face turned red, "why you little-" then she gave her sister a kick in the butt.
"Hey!" Lila laughed through her ounce of pain.
"Not another word, Lila!" Gabrielle warned her.
"Fine, have it your way," Lila dramatically said, "but don't come to me in the morning asking where that woman is!"
Back at the inn...
Xena, getting settled into bed, thought about the story the blonde woman told. No one has ever told a story so well that I have heard that leaves me feeling the way I do right now. The tired woman thought to herself. And what a very beautiful woman if I say so myself.
And soon, Xena rolled on to her side and fell asleep.
The next morning...
Xena's eye lids flew open at the sound of a rooster. I hate those damn things. So very, very rude. Reluctantly, she sat up and stretched. Xena hopped out of the bed and got dressed into her leathers. Gathering up everything she took out, she placed them neatly back into the saddle bags and then headed out to Argo.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Lila were up too because of the same darn rooster. They both got ready for the day and went out to the barn and found their father, Herodotus, feeding the donkey.
"Good morning daughters, you two are up early. What's going on? Are you two sick?" The father joked.
"No, no of course not!" Lila said.
"I know," Herodotus said, "have either of you seen Xena around. I know she'll be leaving soon back to Amphipolis, your mother and I would like to send her off with some sustenance that will last a bit."
Gabrielle and Lila looked at each other with amusement.
"You know what? I think she may be at the stables preparing that horse of hers." Herodotus started to walk out of the barn.
Gabrielle spoke up quickly, "father may we join you?"
"Why of course! Come along now!"
The girls happily followed their father to the stables. There they indeed did find Xena loading up Argo.
"Xena! Leaving so soon?" Herodotus approached her.
Xena turned around to see Herodotus and his daughters.
"Yes, I know, but I need to get a move on, my mother is expecting me," Xena said then looked at the two girls that stood next to him.
Gabrielle did not waste a second, "I'm Gabrielle and this is my little sister Lila."
"So that's you're name, Gabrielle. And you were telling the story of Orpheus and Eurydice last night."
"Yes, that's me." Gabrielle confirmed.
"You girls keep chatting, I'm going back to the house to get a few things. I'll be right back." Herodotus walked out of the barn.
"So our father told us you're traveling back from Athens." Lila stated.
"Yes, that is correct."
"Wow, what's it like there?" Asked Gabrielle.
"Well, it's a very busy city with things going on all around and it's very exhilarating. I had a lot of fun there." Xena explained.
"So what were you doing there?" Gabrielle asked quickly, "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that."
"No, it's okay. Besides, I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't tell anyone the truth," Xena said, "I was there studying."
"I told you she can read!" Lila exclaimmed.
"Lila!" Gabrielle yelled. It made Xena laugh.
"She's right. I can read. But I didn't just read there and I did study, but secretly." Xena added.
"So what else did you learn?" Lila asked.
"I learned how to fight even better than I did before. And my scholar gave me these neat leathers." Xena gestured at herself.
"That's amazing! How were you allowed to be there? It sounds impossible!" Lila said.
"Now that is a secret I must keep. And you two, don't tell anyone what I have told you. You can't be sure if the reactions people will make. So just be carefu with what you say. I told your father that I was visiting family. He and someone else is coming around the corner."
And there they were. The sisters were amazed. They never knew someone with such an acute sense of hearing.
Herodotus introduced his wife, "Xena, this is my wife Hecuba."
"Good morning, ma'am." Xena said.
"And good morning to you as well Xena. Herodotus and I put this bundle of food together for your ride back home." Hecuba handed Xena a bag of food. Xena took it thankfully.
"Thank you so much," Xena turned to Herodotus, "You and your family are most generous."
"You're welcome, you must be on your way. And Xena you are welcome back at anytime you like." Herodotus shook Xena's hand.
"Thank you so much sir. And I'll be holding you up to that." She began to get on top of Argo. Xena then looked at Gabrielle and said, "And I know for sure that next time I will be in the mood for some story telling by a certain bard."
Xena said her goodbyes to the family of four and then began to leave.
Gabrielle noticed that Xena wasn't making Argo go at a very fast pace, so she decided to wait till her family was out of sight before she went up to Xena once more.
"Xena!" Gabrielle called out.
Xena halted Argo and looked back. "Gabrielle, what is it? Did I leave something behind?"
"No, no you didn't but, I couldn't help but notice that you would be in the mood the next time you were in town you looked directly at me. Do you think you could estimate how long that next time would be in?" Gabrielle asked.
"I'm not sure. I was in Athens for three years. It could be awhile. I know for sure my mother and my brother, Toris, are anxious to see me."
"My goodness that's quite awhile. I understand. There's no rush Xena, I was just curious."
"It's alright," Xena thought carefully, "tell you what? How about you walk me to the edge of the village, which isn't far. How about that?"
"I'd like that." Gabrielle answered. Inside she felt happy and lovely.
So Xena got off Argo and walked beside Gabrielle.
At a slow pace they walked and talked. The two women got along quite nicely together and had common interests. They spoke of a large amount of things in a somewhat short time.
As soon as Xena and Gabrielle got to the edge of Poteidaia they had a hard time saying goodbye. Xena promised she would at least try to send some letters when she could and Gabrielle did as well.