Gabrielle walked quietly beside Argo and Xena, her thoughts everywhere but on the road she followed. She thought about her family in Potedia and wondered how they were doing. It was funny to her, though, because in the very same moment that she questioned their well-being, something in her heart told her that they were doing just fine. She smiled, looking up. The day was beautiful, as they often were during this season, and the wind carried a fresh smell on its crest, like that of flowing water.
"Xena, is there a river around here?" she asked, breaking the long-but-comfortable silence that had settled between them over the past hour or so.
"Yes, there is…" Xena answered. She looked down at Gabrielle with a raised eyebrow. "How did you know that?" Gabrielle smiled at the question.
"I could smell it on the wind."
"And your nose continues to amaze me."
The three of them continues on for quite a while, Xena at one point catching a musical bug and allowing herself to hum a simple tune. The sudden sound of the warrior's singing voice made Gabrielle's heart light and brought a smile to her face. She listened quietly, almost serene; it had been months since she had heard her companion sing anything at all, a very sad fact for the blonde considering how much she loved Xena's ability. She didn't recognize this particular song though, even in the slightest, and she therefore was all the more absorbed into it. But it ended sooner than she had expected.
"That was beautiful, Xena," she said. "I don't think I recognize it, though." Xena smiled.
"It's because you haven't heard it," she said. "And neither have I, actually. Not out loud anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for the past few days it's been in my head, but it was always too jumbled for me to make anything real out of it."
"You mean you wrote it?" Xena cocked her head to the side and a curious smile came upon her face. Her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"…Yeah. I guess I did." Her expression turned cocky and her smile morphed into a grin, her tongue poking out of her mouth playfully.
"Does it have a name?" The warrior came back into focus at her friend's question, but her smile remained. She looked down at her friend as they came around a corner and into an open field.
"No, not yet anyway. I don't even know if that's the whole thing. It doesn't even have words-"
"It doesn't need words, Xena," Gabrielle said. She looked up into her friend's face. "It's beautiful the way it is." A warmth came to Xena's face.
"Thanks. I'm glad you like it… You know, maybe I'll name it after y-" Xena stopped cold, doubling over the back of Argo's neck. Her hands were immediately at her stomach just below her breastplate on her left side, her fingers wrapped around a heavy-duty arrow. She felt the wet warmth of blood on her skin and before she could even think of the way to go about removing the weapon, she felt her equilibrium fade quickly, and she toppled off of Argo and onto the ground.
"Xena!" Gabrielle screamed, and she ran around the front of a frantic Argo to try and help her friend.
"Gabrielle, get back and defend yourself. I can handle an arrow." Gabrielle stood back up in obedience, but couldn't ignore the amount of blood draining from Xena's wound. She whipped around, hearing footsteps behind her, and was confronted by five masked thugs, each with their own unique weapon. The one in the middle held a crossbow, and he held it with an obvious pride. Gabrielle gripped her fighting staff and shook her bangs out of her eyes, taking a step forward. Her foot slid unstably as it pressed into the ground, and the blonde looked down to see what she had stepped in. Beneath her, blood soaked the ground and the soles of her boots, and she looked at once to Xena with wide eyes. What she saw however was not her problem. Instead, it was wasting time reacting instead of acting, and the opportunity to do anything productive was lost on her. Before she could turn in any direction, either to help Xena at least to her knees or fight off the bastards who had attacked them, she was brutally swept up off of her feet by the largest of the five men, her staff falling uselessly to the dirt. She struggled against the man, beating him and kneeing him in the stomach, even biting him with all of her strength wherever she could reach, but her efforts were in vain. He carried her away with ease, she herself able to see the rest of the band go after a dying Xena and her horse, who was surprisingly unable to act in her master's defense.
"Xena! Xena!" Gabrielle screamed. Her tears burned her eyes and blurred her vision, but she could still see all of the blood that soaked the ground. It had even managed to get on Argo, staining the palomino's coat. The amount was inconceivable, and this in itself ignited a rage in Gabrielle that gave her an instinct only to fight, to get to her companion. "Xena!" she cried. "Xena, hold on! I'll get us out of this, I will!" she kicked and raged on, but could not for the life of her break free. She watched the men carelessly lift the blue-eyed warrior from the ground, and she seemed to be a cloud from a blood storm the way her life poured ruby-red out of her and onto the earth. Gabrielle's tears ran like a river, and she was nearly blinded by them. But she was determined, enraged, and had no intent to give up even if the effort killed her. "Xena, please! You have to stay with me!" The brunette woman's eyes were unseeingly open, her body limp and lifeless. Gabrielle felt her hope leaving her. "There's so much blood.." she breathed. "There's so much... So much…. Put me down you monster! I will bring an end to you so terrible you will wish to go through what you have done to her! I swear it on the head of Ares! I swear it on Zeus himself!" Gabrielle was sobbing and roaring, fighting against the man that still held her relentlessly. "Xena! Xena, come back to me! Xena…"
Gabrielle felt a hand on her shoulder and she lunged towards it. She didn't understand; In opening her eyes, she found herself in darkness, the cool night air making itself very apparent on the skin on her face that was wet from tears. She looked up to her right, her eyes adjusting to the lack of light quickly.
"Xena…" she whispered, her eyes tearing up immediately. She sat up and leaned forward, burying her face in Xena's hair in one smooth movement. She held the woman very close to her, squeezing her tightly. Xena ran her fingers through Gabrielle's hair gently.
"Gabrielle, are you alright? You were screaming-" Gabrielle had started sobbing immediately before Xena could even finish her sentence, and the brunette knew not to ask any more questions. She felt years in her hair and running down her neck, and after a few minutes Gabrielle shifted, curling up against her companion and practically in Xena's lap. She focused on breathing full, regular breaths to calm herself.
"It was a dream…" she said lowly against her friend's chest. Xena glanced down at Gabrielle, listening patiently, concerned. "…They killed you. They murdered you. There was blood everywhere, so much of it, and I couldn't do anything." Gabrielle went silent for a moment, her breath slowing down. She listened to Xena's heartbeat, a sound almost as comforting as the warrior's singing, but could not bring herself to smile. "I lost you, Xena," she said. Xena found herself slightly disturbed by Gabrielle's dream. It was surprisingly violent, very out of character; it set off an alarm and Xena began to wonder, just for a short while, if maybe the dream was a warning. The prospect was plausible (what with the price on Xena's head virtually everywhere). Despite this, though, Xena did not mention her thoughts to Gabrielle, knowing they'd only make the blonde feel worse, or maybe even interfere with whatever they were to run into in their future travels. Instead, she ran her fingers over the blonde's hair gently.
"But I'm right here," she said, her voice low and smooth. She felt Gabrielle's whole body tense, overwhelmed by a new wave of tears, and pulled away just a fraction, looking into the bard's face. "Hey, look at me," she said. Gabrielle looked up, years flowing freely. "I'm still right here, Gabrielle. I will always, always be here with you." Xena tilted her face forward, resting her forehead against Gabrielle's. "I promise." Gabrielle nodded, trying not to cry anymore, and swallowed hard. She closed her eyes in an attempt to find some tranquility; it wasn't easy, but after some minutes passed she proved to be successful. She pulled away, opening her eyes and letting them readjust to the poor light before glancing over at her sleeping place on the ground. Her brow furrowed.
"Xena?"
"Hrm?"
"Can I.. Can I sleep with you for the rest of the night?" she asked tentatively. Xena smiled warmly as she laid herself down on her side. She lifted a bare arm, not covered by armor, inviting Gabrielle beside her.
"Come here," she said, and her companion shifted to the blue-eyed warrior's side with ease, curling up against her. The quickness of her bard's movements amused Xena enough to cause the raven-haired woman to smile. She leaned over and laid a kiss in the blonde's hair. "Goodnight, Gabrielle." Gabrielle settled in just a little closer, her eyes shutting slowly.
"Goodnight, Xena," she said.