Chapter 2

Gabrielle had the girl sit on the ground and sat behind her on a log to focus on the ugly cut on her back. She blotted the cuts and brutal wounds, cleaning them for the stitching that was to come. She glanced at Xena and raised her eyebrows, insinuating that the warrior should speak.
Xena shook her head slightly in concession. "So. What's your name?"
Xena peered at the girl curiously. She wanted to know her story. What was she doing out here all alone? She wasn't a villager. Her small leather top and skirt were not unlike her own, but definitely not Amazon. The girl was small yet muscular, and her calloused hand indicated she handled a sword often. Her long dark hair was held back by a leather strap across her forehead. Her rich brown eyes sparkled, but seemed to hold many painful memories. She reminded Xena of a small Varia.
Alana looked over to the warrior at the other end of the fire, and bit her lip as she took a deep breath. "My name is Alana. I'm a warrior. Well, not like the two of you. But that's what I'm trying to be. Trying to do good and be as brave as the legendary Warrior Princess and the Battling Bard." She knew she sounded like a love sick puppy. She cleared her face and her throat trying to recover. She felt the tension in Gabrielle behind her and glanced at Xena across the campfire. She was embarrassed at their reaction to her obvious hero worship. "Anyway...I was at a tavern in the next town when I overheard these scum talking about how they had robbed a farm down the road of everything they had. So I snuck up on them when they were drunk and stole the sack of dinars they had. I thought I got out of town without any of them noticing. I was on my way to the farm to return the money when they jumped me." Alana felt her humility return as she remembered the last few candlemarks. "Well, I guess you know the rest."
Alana noticed the knowing glances exchanged between the two warriors before her. She couldn't help but notice the gleam in both their eyes.
'How cute," she thought. 'They are the cutest couple ever.'
Alana grimaced as Gabrielle sewed up the last of her wounds, and was relieved when the blonde put down the needle and declared her work done. "Thank you," she said as she replaced her leather top.
Alana couldn't help but warm at the compassionate gaze from her healer, who simply nodded and walked away. She watched as Gabrielle walked toward the river to clean the bandages. She looked up to see Xena admiring the same sight, only to be averted back to the fire once they had been discovered. Alana smiled to herself.
She looked back to ensure Gabrielle was out of earshot. "So," she nodded to Xena. "You two are truly heroes. Stories of your deeds have crossed the world. You are a legendary couple."
Xena barely looked up from sharpening her sword. But Alana noticed her lips twitch. "Yeah? Well that's thanks to Gabrielle. She likes to embellish in her scrolls." Alana only noticed the flushed cheeks on the Warrior Princess because she was looking for it.
Alana smiled inwardly and swallowed. "Yeah, well. She's pretty amazing."she saw out of the corner of her eye the Warrior Princess give her a silent death stare. She realized she was playing with fire here. She just met these two, did she really want to get on the Warrior Princess' bad side?
Xena eased up her evil stare as she thought about what the girl said. Truer words had never been spoken. "Yeah, she is," Xena admitted, almost dreamily. Alana blushed at the look of adoration on Xena's face. She couldn't believe that the heroic, statuesque warrior that had killed thousands and liberated just as many could be so romantically taken by a pretty blonde.
Gabrielle returned to the fire and sat next to Xena. Alana noticed the cute grin on both their faces. She rolled her eyes slightly and shook her head.
"So. What's your story? What are you doing out here alone looking for trouble?" Xena asked as she put down her sword and crossed her arms over her thigh.
Alana furrowed her eyebrows at the condescending tone from Xena. "I told you. I'm a warrior like you. I'm trying to, you know, do good."
Xena shook her head. "Well, you're gonna get yourself killed. It's not safe to be out here on your own."
Alana was slightly put off by the comment. "Well, pardon me. Not all of us are lucky enough to find a cute little blonde to follow us to the ends of the Earth and back."
Xena's mouth hung slightly open in a half grin as she couldn't believe this girl's gaul.
Gabrielle's mouth puckered and tweaked to the side as she tried not to smile.
Xena let her eyes flick over to Gabrielle as she let herself smile fully, if only or a moment. "Fair enough."
Gabrielle looked down at her lap and blushed. Did Xena just concede that she thought Gabrielle was cute?
Alana was confused at the shyness between them. Surely they were used to hearing endearing words between them. "Besides, I'm a good warrior, Xena. Not as good as you, but I was trained by one of the best. And I'm smart. I'm quick on my feet." Xena sat up a little straighter as she listened to the girl, proudly laying out her skills. "Im brave. I can and have stood up to great evil, knowing it could mean my death. And I have a good heart. I know whats right and wrong."
"Sometimes the line between right and wrong is blurred. It's hard to know the difference sometimes," Gabrielle spoke up. She liked the girl. But she wondered if Xena was right, and her over zealous attitude would get her or someone else killed.
Alana dropped her head. "I know."she swallowed hard. "I haven't had as much experience as you guys, but I think I'm on the right track."
"We'll that's a good start. You mentioned you were trained by one of the best. May I ask who?"
Alana's eyes darkened. "The same person who made me realize that fighting for Rome was a mistake."
Xena perked up in surprise. "Rome? You're a Roman soldier?" Xena instinctively reached down to grip the hilt of her sword.
Alana saw this and raised her hands up in concession. "Easy. Not any more. Lets just say I saw the error of my ways. My commander was...pure evil. She made me realize that burning villages and murdering innocents just wasn't for me."
Now Xena really felt sick to her stomach. "She?"
Alana nodded. "Yeah. My mentor was Livia, Champion of Rome."