This is the second chapter of Xena warrior princess after the dirty half dozen. This chapter will be set a few days after the duo hitched a ride with the band of Gypsies towards the East regions where they'll bond with their travellers and then Glaphyra will begin to see Darnelle in a different view.
But they will also meet with a few Roman warriors along the way.

A week on the road across the eastern regions.

Now Darnelle and Glaphyra had started their journey across the open roads ahead for the next month.
Getting on well with the Gypsies and their travelling caravan, they travelled together from one place to another to the East of Greece.
The Caravan itself had made its way over the borders of the countryside. Each time they stopped to camp out in the hills, they shared war stories and fairy tales into the gypsies' lives as well as a funny stories she heard in the inns of each town. One day when the caravan stopped at a small forest clearing, the Gypsies sat up their camp with each of their horses tied to the trees before sending a few to go out hunting for game in the woods. When Darnelle and a few of the gypsies dug up a few holes near each tent they sat up, they got some wood together and then made small bonfires to warm up the camp.
Glaphyra sat up her own tent with the gypsy ladies whilst the bachelors sat their own tents.

After the tents were set up around the clearing Glaphyra rounded up a group the Gypsy children.
Sitting them down, she took her seat at the centre where she told a few funny stories about Xena before she then met with her faithful companion.
How they met when she was a young person whilst she was travelling through her own village, Darnelle took a drink with a few of the gypsy men who were bachelors needing a break after fixing up a good fire. When he turned his head to look over at Glaphyra, his eyes couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked and how charming she was to the gypsy children sitting around her.

Feeling that he's spent enough of the lonely time with the men, Darnelle stood himself up and excused himself from the Bachelors who accepted him leaving the group. Hobbling across the grounds on a walking stick he made his way to Glaphyra and the children.
When he approached the group of Children, he spoke. "Excuse me children, but might I ask if I may join you to hear the stories of this charming young lady?" Glaphyra was a little surprised to hear Darnelle call her charming young but kept her guard up, eyeing him suspiciously when she spoke with a witty grin.
"Yes, I think there's always more room for one man who is welcome to listen to my stories. Please take your seat." said Glaphyra.

Accepting her invitation, Darnelle stepped forward into the group of children who stood up as well to clear a path for him.
Darnelle hobbled, passing by the sitting children when a boy and girl helped him.
Soon they found him a seat near Glaphyra. Crouching down whilst holding on to his walking stick, Darnelle struggled a bit with the Children lowering him down before Glaphyra helped him sit down, She and the girl slipped his leg in front of him until he finally cross both of his legs on front of him settling down on the floor, he looked up at Glaphyra's face with appreciation. Seeing the hazel brown eyes, Darnelle drew a small grin and spoke.
"Thank you Glaphyra, I was afraid that I'd take a long time to get down on the floor with these children watching me."
Looking at Glaphyra, Darnelle thought that her brown eyes looked so beautiful for a warrior maiden and a story teller.
With her friend now sitting on the ground, Glaphyra looked around to see the children giggling at the two.
"Oh ha ha ha." Glaphyra said to the laughing children before she went back to her spot to continue her story.
As she spoke the tales, Darnelle listened to them carefully and thought the Ex-slaver wasn't too bad but not much of a story teller.
He gave a small laugh on a comment about the goofy sidekick at the hero's side and how in the end the sidekick always helped the Hero triumph over the tyrant leader of the wicked warriors. The children also laughed at him before one of them asked what happened to the hero? Glaphyra thought about it, feeling lost with the ending of the hero.

She was about to tell the children she didn't know when Darnelle raise his hand.
Glaphyra looked at him and spoke in a challenge. "Is there something you would like to add to my story Darnelle?"
Accepting the challenge from the storyteller, Darnelle nodded and he spoke. "Well I think the hero took his leave with the sidekick. They met with a fearless battle Maiden who proved herself worthy as a warrior. Joining forces, the three of them rode off into the sunset to seek out a new adventure on the horizon."
The children looked to him fascinated with the happy ending, Glaphyra sneered a little at his interpretation of the story and then she drew a small grin as a small way of saying thanks for making up the ending for her. Seeing that the children enjoyed the ending, she spoke to them.
"Yes, I think I'll have to agree with your grown up friend Darnelle, the three decided to stick together so that they will seek a new adventure to come and continued their journey and maybe find something else."
The children gave giggles before they settled until one of them spoke. "Darnelle can you tell us a story?"
Darnelle turned his head, looking around at the faces of the children before he reluctantly gave in. Darnelle spoke as he crawled on his knees to take the centre seat beside Glaphyra. "Why not, I could tell you about a few people I met during my years as a gladiator under the laws of the Roman's power."
As the children listened to Darnelle's gladiator stories, they laughed at his funny jests and jokes. Soon after Darnelle started to tell the story of the gladiator, the gypsy hunters returned with their game whilst Glaphyra decided to take a walk so that she could train herself alone.

Once she came to a clear ground with a circle of trees all around her, Glaphyra begun her practice with her knives, throwing each knife on each tree at the centre and picking the knives up from them.
She did this again aiming for the centres for almost an hour.
When she stopped with the knives, she moved on to sticks, practicing her strikes and blows as well as blocks and thrusts and more. She practiced her fighting skills and back flips, she trained hard and long for another hour of the day until the sun began to set before the day's end.
Feeling sweaty from all of her hard work she went off to look for a lake so that she can bathe in it on her own, when she found herself a lake after a short walk deep into the forest she stood there and looked upon it before she took off her boots and her clothes. As soon as she was naked, she left her clothes close to the side and then she stepped into the water of the lake to give herself a cool bath within the waters of the lake in peace.
Back at the camp, having finished telling the stories to the children, Darnelle had decided to take a walk across the forest.
Looking around for a quiet spot, he was hoping that he can relieve himself in peace.
He walked further and further across the clear forest from the camp until he was nowhere in sight of the other campers.
Seeing that no one was watching on sight, he undid his trousers and done his business, peeing on the nearest tree for a moment until he had finished.
Afterwards Darnelle had fixed up his trousers and started to walk off when he noticed a trail. Out of curiosity, Darnelle had decided to follow the trail which led straight to a lake. There he found himself catching the sight of Glaphyra appearing from the water surface of the lake, Darnelle crouched down so that Glaphyra wouldn't catch him spying on her and get mad at him. But as he looked on her, Darnelle felt a flame burning in his heart like the sight of Glaphyra had brought a sense of admiration for the warrior Maiden. Seeing no more reason to stay, Darnelle moved back away from the Lake and then he dashed off just as Glaphyra turned her head to see if anyone had come.
She sensed that someone was here and drew a smirk, taking a wild guess that Darnell might have been there.
After her bath in the Lake, Glaphyra had got herself dried off and dressed up before she made her way back towards the camp.
By the time she had come back to the camp, the gypsies were just in the middle of fixing up the pots of stew for supper for themselves and for the camps as well as for their honoured guests who were travelling with them. Darnelle himself was learning about the stews hoping that he can learn to cook for himself in the days ahead.
As soon as the stew was ready within the hour after Glaphyra's return from the woods the band of gypsies within their new camp including Darnelle and Glaphyra had settled down by the campfires where they enjoyed their supper in peace and shared a couple of more mythic stories together.

The next few weeks.

After spending some time with the gypsies on their caravan journey east, they encountered a few Roman patrols.
Upon passing the patrols, they then headed further south across the regional fields of the country to avoid anymore Roman forces who might be looking to pick a fight with the Gypsy caravan, Glaphyra thought to go on her separate way but then she decided to stay around and see where she might go with Darnelle. Maybe stir up a bit of trouble whilst they have the chance.

Feeling that she had learned as much from them about their lives on the roads, Glaphyra had learnt how they've come to love their husbands as well as other things and the description of true love itself. Of course on an odd night, Glaphyra asked one of the gypsy women named Esme to find out what Darnelle spoke about and to help him walk again without a walking stick.

As the time went with Darnelle and Esme, the two of them walking side by side, they were talking together as well.
In their conversations, Darnelle learned so much from the woman who told him about how Glaphyra had spoken to her about how she was curious to know if Darnelle was a kind and different person and that time that she knew that he was at the same lake she was in whilst bathing, Darnelle explained that he didn't mean to intrude on her and that it was an accident on his part. Esme believed him and then went on to tell Glaphyra who laughed a bit at the remark.
As soon as the caravan had moved from their path towards the eastern shore, Darnelle and Glaphyra parted with the Gypsies.
After some farewells the Caravan of Gypsies then continued heading down south to one of the cities to see what opportunity that maybe open for the travelling group but they hoped that they would avoid the growing power of the new Roman empire.

As the two walked across the roads with their horses which were a gift from their new Gypsy friends, Darnelle sat on his saddle with his walking stick at his side but his leg was getting strong on each day they walked from place to place. With time and patience, Darnelle started to walk properly again.
And now he was mounted by Glaphyra's side who was walking with her horse on her left side, Darnelle had his own thoughts which swelled on how he grew feelings for the Warrior maiden he was travelling alongside, then Darnelle went back to his macho attitude again to hide his true feelings, which aggravated her.
But as time passed, Glaphyra started to see through the macho attitude to see a soft side of him that she didn't realise and she began to grow feelings for him.

A few weeks later.

It was after those few long weeks of travelling across the eastern edge of Greece, the troublesome two had went on to do a few good deeds, helping villages build new houses and wind mills as well as sort out problems with some marauders in their villages. When their journey had then turned north, Darnelle and Glaphyra had travelled from town to town, Darnelle kept up his macho male attitude around the other men in the villages and caused a little bit of trouble along the roads when Arcadian guards appeared.
Even Glaphyra the ex-slaver stepped in and caused some trouble as well when she refused to please the two, she even stole a few daggers from them after the fight which was fun for the both of them. But whilst in each Town, Darnelle spoke mostly about himself and his bravery in the past battles to impress all the girls in the towns whilst Glaphyra had to step outside or at least draw them away so he won't let their lust go to his head.
But it was later in the third of a month into their journey, something in the air changed. Upon learning that there was a little war happening in another village called Potedaia between the Athenian army and two warlords, they decided to offer the village a little help in training the villagers to fight against the warlords.
When they came to the village itself, Darnelle and Glaphyra wound up meeting up with Xena and the bard Gabrielle again.
Darnelle and Glaphyra then decided to join Xena and Gabrielle in training up the villagers.
As preparations were underway, Gabrielle had the good mind to tell the people of her village, her version of a story called The dirty half dozen which was a chronicle adventure with Darnelle and Glaphyra. The gladiator and the ex-slaver listened to the story with such intrigue that Darnelle complimented her for her great story telling. Soon after that the battle had started which ended up being won in the end; the villagers were saved by the four heroes they praised.
Only Darnelle gave his praise to Gabrielle the amazon princess much to the surprise of Glaphyra, who had appreciated Darnelle's respect towards women.
Two weeks after the battle in Gabrielle's village in Potedaia where they met up with Gabrielle and Xena again to defend Gabrielle's beloved home, Darnelle and Glaphyra had said their goodbyes to Xena and Gabrielle before they had gone on the road to the south, obviously trying to find another chance at trouble to get into.

As they made the head start from Gabrielle's village, Glaphyra wasn't blind enough to see that something is troubling her travelling companion and she wanted to know what it was. When she turned her head to look up at him, she noticed to see that he was thinking about things so she decided to speak.
"Darnelle, you've been a little quiet since we've left the Gabrielle's village. Are you missing any of those ladies back there, or are you thinking of the beautiful gypsy women from the caravan?"
Turning his head to look down at her, Darnelle remained silent before he gave a smirk and spoke.
"No, but I've just had sometime to think on things after the fun in Potedaia. The village women were very nice, but the gypsy girls were beautiful also and I can't say that I've had a desire to marry anyone of them." Glaphyra drew a sarcastic grin as she walked along.
She gave a laugh before she spoke. "Yes, you have your pick of women you want to be with."
"Yes and yet I have only spoken to Esme a long time ago about what flowers you like." Darnelle said.
At the confession, Glaphyra stopped in her track and turned her head to look at him. "What flowers I like? why would the tall gladiator with a large manly ego like you, want to know about what flowers I like?" She asked, curious to know why Darnelle would ever want to pick flowers for her as she didn't show any affection for him.

"Because I thought that if I knew what flower you like then I'd try to find it so that you can hold it as a token of an apology to you. I felt a but guilty for catching you in that lake" said Darnelle. Glaphyra stood in her spot with her horse standing in awe when she heard he was speaking of giving her a token.
She continued to stand stood there with her horse looking at Darnelle, who then stopped his horse halfway from her before he turned it to look back at her.
"A token to me? So it was you who was spying on me." Glaphyra stated in an annoyed tone.
"I admit that i wasn't there long to see anything else Glaphyra, I just saw the back of your head as well as your back and nothing else. Anyways I chose not to linger on as I knew that it was indecent of me to do so. Also I wanted to make up for it and ask for your forgiveness. Can you blame me for wanting to give you a token?"

"Am I to understand that the great Darnelle is looking to find a flower because he's starting to have feelings for his travelling companion?" asked Glaphyra.
Darnelle looked down as if he was guilty of his past crimes, which made him look so sensitive for a short moment.
When he looked up at her again, his face flushing a colour of red when he spoke. "I did tell you once not to go falling in love with me, and you didn't. But with all the past days, I've been travelling on the road with you. And through what we've done together I was finding your company the most that I have enjoyed in the years of my whole life. I've never fancied any woman who is so different to me. We travelled a long way you and I, for me things have changed as you're not the woman I'd imagine. I mean you're an elegant, strong-willed and independent woman." Darnelle moved his horse forward towards Glaphyra as he expressed his thoughts all at once to her.
Glaphyra couldn't help but just stand there as her horse stood and breathed out.
She listen to him before her eyes started to shed a couple of tears, upon finding the words to express herself she spoke them out.
"Darnelle, I have to confess that's the most sweetest thing anyone has ever said, I can't really pretend that It hasn't touched me to hear that you're confessing some growing feelings. You've been a compulsive and egotistic companion but you've grown on me, I did say once that I'd sooner fall for a toad but then if the toad turned into a prince, I'd be surprised. I do accept your apology for that day at the lake."

"Well I admit to you that I'm not a prince, I can never be a prince of any country. But I felt almost touched by how much your spirit was strong and bright as the morning sun, if there was a destiny in this world then maybe that my destiny was to be with you." said Darnelle looking upon Glaphyra.
Drawing a small smile upon her face Glaphyra gave a giggle at Darnelle feeling a little weak at the moment.
Before she knew it she stepped forward to wrap her arm around Darnelle who was surprised at her action, she gave him an embrace.
Withdrawing from Darnelle who was about to speak, Glaphyra raised her hands up to stop him and then she spoke her words.
"Please let me speak out, I didn't think that in my destiny I'd end up travelling the roads with you even as an ex-slaver.
In fact I thought that my life would be the same and I'd still be selling slaves to merchants across all of Greece until I wound up being recruited by Xena, for a life or death mission to stop that Warlord Agathon who sought to destroy everything. I don't know if my destiny would go anywhere but I know that my view of you has changed and you're a different man compared to the men that I've met and seen.
I think that I'll need to leave you and travel north so that I can think about some things for myself."

Darnelle became a little disappointed when hearing those words, he knew that he couldn't stop her from leaving his side and that they'll have to figure things out alone so looking up at Glaphyra, he found the words to say. "If you wish to leave me then I won't hold you back for any reason. You're free to go."

Glaphyra then found herself drawing a grin at Darnelle for his kind words. Mounting up on her horse, she moved it forward so that they can be side by side and then she spoke. "Thank you Darnelle for letting me go, if you do find a flower that I like, then I advise that any red or purple flower is one that I fancy."
Extending her hand to her friend, Darnelle took her hand in his.

They shook hands for a moment between them before they withdrew, Darnelle then spoke.
"I want to give you something." Reaching up to his right ear with both hands, he took his earring off and then he handed it over to her.
"This earring was personal to me. I want you to have it so that you'll always have something to look back and remember me in years to come Glaphyra." said Darnelle. Glaphyra looked down at the earring in her hand.
For a moment she thought that it was a nice earring, then looking up at Darnelle, she spoke.
"I hope someday that we'll meet again someday and by then I hope you'll change a bit."

"Well I probably will change thanks to you. so until then I say its been an honour travelling with you mighty Glaphyra." said Darnelle.
Glaphyra laughed in response and gave a remark. "You still try to charm me with your honey words."

"Yes, I try and I fail because you charmed me first. Good journey to you Glaphyra." said Darnelle.
"Good journey to you fearless Darnelle." Glaphyra said to Darnelle, and with that she turned her horse to the North.
She rode away on her mount whilst her friend watched her go into the distance, Darnelle started feeling a little heart broken to see her go but he knew he had to because he found himself falling in love with her.

That's Chapter two done, I wish that I could write some more details for the story but I had none to make it all the more better so I'll have to do some new research to make this a lot better so please stay tuned, and tell me what you think of this chapter.