Diaft-Full Version
Destiny Is a Funny Thing
Author: Adelaide
Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did, not doing it
for money, blah, blah, blah. Oh, yeah, the tune, lyrics, and voices to
the song "At the Beginning" belong to Lyinn Ahrens(Lyrics), Stephen Flaherty(Tune),
and Richard Marx and Donna Lewis (Voices)
Rating:PG-13
Pairing: Ares/Gabrielle
Summary: No matter the circumstances, destiny is unavoidable
Authors Note: Okay, so this is my little timeline. Xena
and Gabrielle still meet and all that, but let's say Gabrielle has never,
ever met Ares. Xena has of course, that doesn't change, just Gabrielle
hasn't. Sorry for the little bit of grotesques in the beginning. Oh and
I named Gabrielle's Horse Handsome, since that's the only thing we heard
her call him.
Feedback: Please.....Callygurl24@yahoo.com
We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
Hopefully it was for the last time. She had tried twice
before, but somehow she always ended up right back where she started.
"Gabrielle are you sure?" The dark prowess stared at her
blonde friend with pleading eyes.
"Xena I think it's finally time. We both knew that one
day it would come to this. It's for the best." Gabrielle tried hard not
to back out of her decision. It was very difficult with Xena's eyes burning
an invisible hole in her forehead.
A single tear escaped Xena's eye, but as soon as it came,
it was wiped away.
"Until we meet again?" Gabrielle offered auspiciously,
even though she knew it would only give little if any solace to her lifelong
friend.
"Until then." At that she gave Gabrielle a tight hug and
turned with Argo to the west, while Gabrielle took Handsome and slowly
headed east.
The duo were officially no more. Gabrielle had called
the split and it happened.
Where was she headed? She didn't know, exactly, but she
just knew she couldn't live in Xena's shadow anymore. They had traveled
together for ten years now, it was just time to go their separate ways.
Weeks went by. Gabrielle traveled around the countryside,
alone and bored. Once she had decided she would go home and visit, but
then decided against it for she knew her family would just get onto her
case about how they were right and she was wrong about going with Xena
in the first place.
One night she sat underneath a tree fidgeting with her
white silk skirt, when suddenly she just burst into tears.
She was crying for everything. When she first joined Xena
she thought that maybe they'd be together forever. Now, however she wished
she had given a little more though to what she was going to do once she
had left her.
Once Gabrielle finished crying, she immediately wished
she had never started for she heard a low snicker of a large group of men.
Quickly getting on her feet, Gabrielle pulled out her
staff.
"Who's there?" She asked weakly.
The snicker turned into a loud laugh, then.
"Show yourselves." This time her voice sounded with great
force. Gabrielle hated being laughed at, that was what triggered her anger,
and what triggered her mistake.
"Show your fat asses now or go away!"
Gabrielle soon regretted saying that when twenty huge
burly men with swords slowly walked into the light.
Only one man stood out, though. His sword wasn't raised
it rested weakly at his side. He was very handsome, dark, muscular, and
tall. He didn't seem to be getting a big thrill out of picking a fight
with Gabrielle.
Gabrielle noticed this, however, so she decide early on
in the fight that running in his direction would be best.
The fighting began. Gabrielle executed her plan to perfection,
except for overlooking one small detail; they had arrows.
She ran past the man who barely gave her a glance, jumped
into the trees, silently thanked the Amazons for teaching her how to do
that, then ran through the limbs.
She was pretty sure they were gone, that is until she
felt a sharp pain by her right shoulder blade, then another one through
her abdomen.
She fell ten feet to land face first in the dirt below.
That's when she first saw the arrows, and first felt the
real pain they gave.
The men of course caught up to her and started to drag
her bloody body back towards the spot she had originally sat.
They were stopped, however, by a low growl in the dark
bushes.
Gabrielle was only conscious enough to see a huge dark
form approach the group and hear her attackers scream in fear. Before giving
into complete darkness she gathered up enough senses to feel a man lifting
her tenderly from the ground. Then, everything was black.
No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind
me
This is the start
He leaned over the poor girl. She
was in bad shape. Her wounds were bleeding profusely and with each progressing
minute the blood was getting darker. Not a good sign. Mere bandages would
last only seconds with as much as she was hemorrhaging. He had to act quickly.
Placing his hands gently around
the shaft of the first arrow, the man broke off the feathered end. He repeated
the process with the other. Then, almost as if he was afraid she would
break, he lifted her forward to pull the arrows out the other side. Once
he did this, though, the bleeding only increased. With each passing second,
the soft, beautiful woman before him was getting more and more pale. However,
he did not seem worried. On the contrary, he just smiled and laid her back
down.
Positioning one hand above each
wound, he started to concentrate. Each one started to glow a bright blue.
The blood started to slowly dry up and disappear, while the wounds seemed
to be sewn by an invisible force greater than either participant could
imagine.
When everything was closed up, the
man collapsed forward with barely enough strength to stop himself from
landing on the woman. Taking the opportunity of being just inches
from her face, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"Rest you will now have. Sleep well."
He again kissed her, then left.
Seven days had to pass until Gabrielle
finally awoke. Her body and mind felt more refreshed than they had ever
before, but something was not right.
She rose up with a start. This was
not her bed, she didn't even sleep in beds. Yet, here she was in one incredibly
big, incredibly comfortable, bed.
Taking a look at her surroundings,
Gabrielle could only assume it to be a bed chamber of a temple. But what
temple and whose bed chamber, she had no idea.
She brought her hand to her stomach
in surprise. What she felt there only surprised her more, no wound. Then,
she felt her shoulder. That held the same results.
"Where am I?" She whispered, not
really expecting an answer.
"You're in my Lord's temple."
The voice startled Gabrielle. So
much, in fact, that she jumped out the bed frantically searching for some
kind of weapon. When she found none she turned to face the man.
It was him, the man from the attack.
Same curly black hair and goatee. But now, her seemed to be wearing black
cloth pants and a royal blue tunic, the robes of a servant. He stood in
a corner by a window. Gabrielle could only assume by the plate of food
on the small along with the scroll and quill that he had been sent to watch
over her and that he been doing it for quite some time now.
"Who are you?" Her voice was filled
with such wonder. At first she thought this man a sleazy warrior, and he
still could be, but now she wasn't so sure.
"My name is Alexander. I am a servant
in this temple. If there is anything that you wish I am here to fulfill
it. My master would like you to stay for a while. So, please stay
and welcome yourself to anything." He bowed slightly as if to indicate
his sincere intentions.
"And who exactly is this master
of yours." She wasn't about to stay in a strange place without finding
out a few things about it first.
"I am sorry mistress, but that is
of information that I cannot divulge. I have only seen my master but once.
He's very secretive, but very kind I assure you. You are free to leave
if you are convinced otherwise." Gabrielle looked at his face. He seemed
almost at loss at the thought of her going.
Gabrielle considered for a few moments.
She was free to leave at anytime, so what could the harm be, right?
"All right, I'll stay."
A huge smile spread across Alexander's
face.
"Oh I..I mean my master will be
so pleased." He flushed slightly, then bowed and exited the room.
Gabrielle smirked at the man as
he closed the door.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
Gabrielle sighed, then gently slipped back under the covers. If she was
going to be staying here why not make the most of it, starting with a nice
long nap.
Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
The first few days in the temple
were a bit awkward for Gabrielle. For one thing, she really didn't enjoy
seeing half naked priestesses running around all the time spouting their
love for their master, one of which they'd never seen. And secondly, no
one really seemed to care that she was there. Well, except maybe Alexander.
But most of the other inhabitants rarely said anything to her. Not even
a quick hello while passing in the hall. As the days went on she felt more
like an outcast, than like a guest.
It was now Gabrielle's fifth day
there and still not many people acknowledged that she existed. It was getting
better, though, with Alexander. She really enjoyed talking with him on
the nights he didn't have to work. It didn't happen very often, but it
was probably the only reason she stayed around.
Tonight was one of those nights.
Gabrielle excitedly entered the common living area. It was such a beautiful
room. A huge stone fireplace stood in the center of the back wall. Age
was very apparent on its features. Gabrielle loved to sit right on the
edge of the fire. It reminded her of the days when she and Xena used to
do the very same thing, but tonight she sat on the large plush couch in
front of the hearth. The fabric was smooth to the touch, probably of the
finest fabric, and the down-filled pillows were just right to snuggle up
against. The only thing about this mysterious master that Gabrielle knew
for certain ws that he was rich. It bothered her that that was all she
knew about him, but as long as things were decent around here, then she
didn't let it get to her too much.
Just as she sat down, she heard
a slight cough behind her. Turning around, Gabrielle saw Alexander walk
into the room. She stood up to greet him.
"Hey beautiful, miss me?" He grinned.
It was such an inviting grin, that Gabrielle couldn't resist smiling back
at him.
"Always." She gave him a quick hug,
which wasn't too easy since he was at least ten inches taller than her.
Gabrielle sat back down on the couch,
Alexander followed.
His eyes bore into her own. They
were so alluring, such a rich chocolate brown. So alluring in fact that
Gabrielle just wanted to drown in them forever.
"Is there something on your mind?"
He smiled obviously sensing her thoughts.
Gabrielle blushed furiously.
"Actually, yes." She tried desperately
to get her mind off him.
"Well..." He prompted.
"Well, I want to meet this master
of yours. I've been staying here for almost a week and yet I know nothing
about him, except that he's rich. I think at least I deserve the satisfaction
of knowing his name. I'd even settle for a brief description of what he
looks like. I'm not asking for much maybe what his favorite hobby is. What
he does all day. Why he needs you to be a servant for days at a time. Come
on, something, anything."
Alexander burst out laughing. Gabrielle
couldn't understand it. She was pleading with him and he found it funny.
"Are you amused by something?"
"I'm sorry, you just remind me of
someone." He tried to stifle his laughter.
''Who?" Okay, now she was curious.
"An old pupil of my master's. A
woman like you. He would never let her see him or hear him and it drove
her insane."
"Really? What was her name?" Gabrielle
had to know. May be it would give her a clue to who his master was.
"Xe...She only said her name once
to me, but I think it was Xenelia."
"Oh" Gabrielle was slightly disappointed.
She had never heard of the woman before, so she was no closer to figuring
out who the lord of this temple was.
"You know what?" He said with a
genuine smile on his face.
"What?" She was tired of these games.
If he made her think of anymore secrets and made her even more curious
she would just have to leave.
"I will tell you a few things about
him."
"Really?" She instantly sat straight
up.
"Yes, really."
"Go ahead." Gabrielle couldn't wait.
"All I'll tell you is that when
you were being attacked by those men a few weeks back, my master couldn't
bear to see you die. So, he sent me to save you. He cares a great deal
about you. Whether you know it or not, he is here in this temple and he
does watch over you, just to make sure you're safe and having a good time,
honestly. This is all that I can tell you. I have to go now. Good night."
With that said he gently kissed her on her hand and walked out of the room,
leaving a stupefied and very self conscience Gabrielle behind.
I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
Gabrielle had woken up the next morning thinking nothing
was out of the ordinary. But, as she opened her door, she found a small
piece of parchment attached to it. It didn't say much, but it was from
Alexander.
The note read:
Gabrielle,
My master is sending me away on
a mission for a few weeks. Please come meet me in the common room after
dark.
-Alexander
So, now she walked down the long hallway to the common
room.
Why did he have to leave? What would she do for two weeks?
Would he miss her? Questions flooded her head. Gabrielle had grown to really
care for and had maybe even started to love Alexander. Now, just as she
was starting to realize this, he was leaving. True it was only for a little
while, but it still hurt to think about him away from her at all.
As she entered, Gabrielle saw him waiting, sadly stroking
the fire.
"Why does it have to be you leaving?" She blurted out,
only intending to think it.
Alexander looked up, sadness evident in his eyes.
"Come here." He gently commanded.
Gabrielle obeyed. She silently sat across from him, waiting
patiently for his words to continue.
"Why so sad? I'll only be gone for two weeks. Besides
when I come back, I'll spend all of my free time with you. I don't want
to go either, but I have to." Alexander softly entwined their fingers.
