Disclaimer: see ch1
AN: Ok, first of all, thank you to the few amazing human beings who decided to like this story, follow this story or simply had the time to read it. I'll try to post the updates as soon as possible and again, any review, suggestion or critic is welcome and it could help me a lot! Also if you find any mistake please do not hesitate to contact me, this way I'll be able to correct them and update a better story for everyone, I try to avoid them obviously but sometimes a spelling mistake here or there may go unnoticed, and for that I apologize. But enough talking, Here is chapter 2, hope you'll enjoy it!
Chapter 2
When Xena finally left the master's house she looked down on the town that laid after her eyes, the last rays of sun were veiling the place in a golden coat, the people where finally moving back from their stalls and workplaces to their houses after another long day of work, she could smell the sea, emphasized by the light breeze that was gently blowing from the coast, and a couple of already drunken sailor remembered her that, in fact, this town revolved around the sea trade, yet her focus was elsewhere.
Looking around she noticed the laziness of this town who was now shutting down and getting ready for the night fast approaching, yet of her bard there was no trace. Gabrielle was supposed to meet her earlier in the town's hall but now that she was outside only stillness and quiet met her eyes. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breath,
"come on where are you.." she muttered under her breath, and soon guilt took over her, she quickly thought that she shouldn't have left the bard alone, but what could possibly go wrong?! Maybe she was overreacting, she knew the little girl, sure Gabrielle was no kid, the blonde could take care of herself, the warrior thought, trying almost unconsciously to reassure herself, yet while on the outside she looked calm and composed the truth was that her hearth was in turmoil, her hands were cold and her breath shaky.
Quickly she decided to approach the market, targeting the merchant she had seen Gabrielle walk towards when she left her, once again thinking how stupid that was on her behalf to leave the girl, she fastened her pace until she reached the merchant's stall, luckily the poor man was still there, reorganizing his merchandize for the night to come. Xena quickly closed the gap to the man, approaching him with a fury raging in her heart, that she could barely contain.
"hey you!" started a not so diplomatic Warrior Princess
"yes?" answered the grey man, with an annoyed look, trying to hide the bit of fear he started to feel when he got a good look at the woman before him.
"you've been talking to a short, blond woman here a few hours ago is that right?" guessed an uncertain yet determinate Xena "she was wearing a green top and red skirt" she added.
"look" he started "I talk to a lot of people every single day if you haven't noticed, that's part of my job, how in hades can I rememb.."
He couldn't even finish his sentence for the Warrior Princess would have none of his crap and the fear that was now taking over her emotions started to show in her actions as well, she rudely grabbed the merchants collar and questioned him again with definitively a more direct approach
"If you care about your life you will answer me and you will answer me now or else I will not be held responsible for my next actions" she stated, looking straight into his eyes
"all right" he whispered, a touch of bitterness in his voice, now trying to remember the long day he had and the many girls he had seen, sure there where a few blond ones but none she could remember that matched the descriptions he received, and when his silence was met with icy blue eyes he suddenly was afraid, but his thoughts were cut off abruptly when in an instant the world become white and he felt like his head was about to explode, and tasted blood in his mouth. After what felt like an age he heard the voice of the Warrior Woman saying something about cutting off the flow of blood in his brain if he didn't collaborate so he immediately tried to agree in a desperate attempt to cling into his life for a few more minutes.
When he was faced with the same question again he tried to think harder, but the fear, mixed with the pain were making it impossible to do, so he desperately tried to give the woman some kind of answer more or less true that would please her, telling her that she had seen this blond girl head off towards the docks, and as quick as she come, the Warrior Princess was off in the pointed direction, and he, thanking a few gods, was back to his job.
But the Warrior Princess was no foul, she had seen through the man lies, and perhaps would have done something she would later regret if it wasn't for an old lady, catching the Warrior Princess attention.
Once again the warrior approached her target "hey" the warrior started again, way more diplomatic this time, "do you happen to have seen a short blond girl around here?"
"I only see evil" was the cryptic answer of the old lady, who now totally had Xena's attention "beware of the rage boiling inside you" she continued "for one day you will have to choose between your heart and your rage"
"are you a seer or something?" was the unamused answer she received, which she met with a smile
"I'm no seer young woman, I just saw how you treated that poor fella over there" simply explained the old lady, raising a bit her arm to prove her point towards the market, surprising Xena, who now started to feel guilty for her actions, daring almost unconsciously a quick peek behind her, towards the men's stall that was now empty. Finally completely realizing what she had done, she felt ashamed of herself, yet she had a job to finish, but inside her there was this inner turmoil who wasn't letting her think clearly, until the lady spoke again
"but I do have seen this girl of yours"
The first thing she felt when she woke up was the intense pain in the back of her head, groaning, she started to sit up from the cold ground which she was laid on, but the headache was strong and when she opened her eyes the world spun around her for a few heartbeats. Finally, after regaining her focus she started to look around, at the dark room she was in, lightened just by a few candles near the window. Thinking back of what happened in the last few hours, she suddenly thought of Xena and the man who attacked her and it come down to her that she was truly in a bad situation. Yet she was still alive, which was an unprecedented success she half thought, with a little bit of healthy sarcasm.
She suddenly heard the noise of a plate clashing against a wooden surface, coming from the far end of the room and turning her head around the blonde girl realized she wasn't alone, yet what she saw was not what she was expecting. In fact for the first time since she awoke, the bard fully realize where she was held hostage, and it was no dark dungeon or dirty tent of a warlord in the middle of nowhere. She realized, in fact, that she was in a common house, probably still somewhere in the city, and the eyes that where now looking straight into hers didn't belong to the one of an evil warrior or some ruthless warlord. No, they were the eyes of a worried man, sitting close to a woman that reminded Gabrielle of her own mother.
"so you finally woke up" started the short man, raising from his chair and starting to walk towards the bard with a plate in his hands, "here, have this, you must be hungry" he said, when he finally reached the blond, shoving the plate that contained a piece of cheese and some cold cuts on the floor in front of the girl.
"why are you doing this?" she asked, "who are you, why are you keeping me here?" continued the bard, picking up the speed in the last part of the phrase, slowly raising her chained hands to emphasize her point and also to grab the plate that she was offered, for she was indeed starving, after all.
"who I am or why I'm doing this is none of your business" was the cold answer from the man, "all that matters is that I know you are a friend of Xena, and that there are a lot of guys out there who would pay a pretty price for someone like you"
"you aren't going to sell me over the slavers?" asked a now worried Gabrielle
"who said anything about slavers"
Immediately the bard's mind started to search for any possible answer to that question but the more she thought about it and the more she realized that there was only one answer
"Kallias" she whispered
The man pretended to ignore that and started to walk back to the table when once again the bard vocalized her opinion
"you know, you don't have to do this" she said hopefully, trying to do what she does best: working her way out with words. "you seem like decent people, is she your partner?" she questioned, referring to the woman close to him, trying to start a conversation.
"we are married" answered the woman, with an annoyed expression, and that answer surprised once again Gabrielle for she couldn't understand why an apparently normal looking family would go from an everyday life to kidnappers the next day.
I mean there must be a reason for this, come on Gabrielle think! I need more time. All right I'll try to buy some time, after all Xena must be looking for me by now, they definitely don't look like warriors.. she thought, looking around, and all of a sudden the answer to her questions came to light in the form of a small wooden toy with the shape of an horse, laying on the ground close to the fire.
"you have a child" Gabrielle asked, yet it ended up sounding more like a statement, and with a veil of sadness in her eyes she truly realize what was going on in this house, receiving a confirmation of her theory from the saddened look who appeared on the woman's face that soon searched comfort in her husband presence, and immediately the fear and anger that the blonde girl felt earlier left her, replaced with understanding and empathy, but unfortunately just before she could give a word of comfort to the family, an hurricane came down from the entrance door, ripping it apart from the weak hinges, and the fear and anger that had left Gabrielle earlier represented themselves in the form of the Warrior Princess.
Immediately Xena's eyes scanned the poorly lit room in search of her bard, who she quickly found, and left a breath of relieve she didn't know she was holding, her expression relaxed a bit, but it wasn't destined to last long, for now her focus was on the man standing near a table, a frightened expression in his eyes. He quickly made his move and tried to grab the kitchen knife laying but a few feet from him on the table, but unfortunately for him this sudden move wasn't going unnoticed by the dark warrior who was now back in a full fight mode and after letting out her piercing war cry she was on the man, kicking the blade out of his hands and in the same swift movement elbowing him in the jaw, but the man was tough and he would not let this chance at having something to offer to Kallias slip away, and the years in the fields made him though, and so, with immense rage and the force of pure desperation he started to hit back, at first surprising the woman, managing to assess a few punches on her side.
But Xena is a tough nut to crack and after the initial surprise she managed to recover rather quickly in fact and now she was turning the fight in her favor against the strong but inexperienced man, and with powerful blows to his head and torso she managed to regain the upper hand in the fight, but her rage was strong and the fear for loosing Gabrielle was still inside her, and when fear mixes with anger the effects are devastating, for when this happen, people will do things that they never thought were capable of doing, and Xena knew that very well from her past, yet she kept hitting the man even when he finally fall to the ground under the Warrior's assault, and that was her first mistake, let the rage blind her, for if it wasn't for Gabrielle's scream she wouldn't have noticed the woman there, picking up the knife, and so she immediately reacted, moving towards her new target kicking with ease the blade out of her hands and across the room. In a swift motion she kicked the woman on the stomach, lifting her from the ground and then watching her fall on her back on the cold ground a few feet away she smirked.
She started to move towards her, darkness in her eyes, she slowly raised her fist, ready to hit the target, a fury in her eyes, when, in the blink of an eye, she felt her foots leave the ground as well, the man must have rammed her to the ground, yet she only saw a blurry form. She immediately went into defensive mode and hit whoever dared to attack her, not realizing in fact that the one willing to do such outrageous act was the little blond girl, who somehow managed to get herself free. But it was too late for Xena to do anything, for the damage was already done and the punch had connected with the bard's temple before she could do anything to stop herself, almost knocking the bard out, a trickle of blood already leaving the bard's temple
"Gabrielle..?" whispered an horrified Warrior Princess, a look of surprise on her face, mixed with an unconscious sensation of betrayal
"Xena.." the bard whispered faintly
"don't move stay still" immediately said Xena, on the verge of crying, panic raising in her chest, trying to estimate the damage she had done to the one she love most
"don't move it's ok I got you, Gods, I'm so sorry Gabrielle"
"I'm so sorry" she repeated more to herself than to the bard, who was now falling unconscious
"it's ok" she said with the last bit of strength she had left before giving up to darkness