Xena Reflection
The fire was burning bright giving Gabriel the warmth she needed to slip away into a peaceful sleep. However, for Xena, the fire gave no comfort to the demons of her past that ran untamed in her mind.
The shire thought of making Gabriel one of those demons made her want to die inside. Xena knew from the moment she placed Gabriel on Argo that she was placing her directly in danger. Then what made Xena do it. What made her think, in some glimmer of hope, that Gabriel wouldn't end up like all the others that had crossed the past of Xena The Warrior Princess. How could she have been so foolish to let her mind and heart think that she, Xena, the destroyer of kingdoms and tamer of darkness, could ever have someone she could truly call a friend.
This thought kept Xena from her much needed rest, but it was something she knew she had to deal with. "What to do?" She asked herself calmly. Maybe the question that feared her the most wasn't "what should she do" but rather "Is she willing to do whatever she must to protect the one she calls friend?"