Not only am I super excited to work on this story more but the new Spartacus season is only like a month away! I wasn't originally planning on watching Vengeance but seeing as they decided to bring back Lucretia... I really want to see how they one, pull off having her survive and two how they show her character now that she's gone through such a traumatic experience. Plus they mention she wants to exact her revenge on Crixus, definitely want to see that. haha.
Lucretia glared at her husband, her jaw set tight as she tapped a well manicured nail against the flawless skin of her arm. "You have to get her to eat or she won't be able to fight." The woman spat out angrily, her neck and cheeks flushed.
"I can't force the woman to eat, Lucretia... Believe me, we've tried."
"Then try something else, husband. But do not just sit around on your ass complaining about how your prized gladiatrix refuses to fight when you've baited her into the decision." She quipped, her husband snapped his jaw shut. Refusing to give his wife the satisfaction of continuing the argument, instead he planned on shutting her up by correcting the issue.
Lost in thought Batiatas never even noticed his wife leaving his study, the woman moved quickly through the halls until she came to a slightly smaller chamber. "Gabrielle?"
"Yes mother?"
"Could you come here a moment dear?" The older woman asked as she took a seat on her daughter's neatly made bed, the petite blonde emerged from her bathing chamber shortly after. Her hair pulled back in a loose braid, she sat next to her mother.
"What's wrong mother? You look pale."
"I know I told you not to speak to that gladiatrix... But we cannot get her to eat, I was thinking you might be able to convince her..."
The younger woman chewed on her lip as she considered her mother's words, "And you're only having me do this so she'll fight, yes?"
Lucretia narrowed her eyes at her daughter, "Yes but that is irrelevant, do you want her to starve? Do you want to starve?"
"No, I don't mother. I would actually prefer to earn my own dinars off of my own work, my literature." The blonde responded, rising from her bed and turning from her mother to return to the other room. She paused in the doorway, "I will talk to her but not for your benefit."
xxxxx
Gabrielle smiled at the guard as he lead her down into the gladiator's living quarters, "Thank you Joxer, I'll be fine from here."
The guard nodded, his slightly too large helmet sliding down to cover his eyes as he did so. Gabrielle fought back the urge to laugh as the man quickly turned and mumbled to himself as he corrected the disobedient piece of armor.
Glancing through the space between the door and the doorway, the blonde could clearly make out Xena's almost nude body sprawled across her small cot. She still couldn't believe how tall the woman was, her strong body was stretched across the entire length of the cot, her feet almost off of the edge.
Deciding she'd stared for long enough the blonde knocked on the thick door, no response. Trying louder the second time, the small woman hoped that the gladiatrix would be able to hear her but after a second time of going unnoticed she decided to slip inside the room. Closing the door quietly behind her, the young woman made her way over to the side of the cot, she lowered herself down next to the small bed.
Watching the older woman sleep, the blonde would never know that this peaceful looking creature could ever be capable of the things she'd done in the arena had she not seen the blood thirsty animal the gladiatrix became as soon as she stepped out onto the bloody sands.
Reaching out of reflex, Gabrielle's hand moved to correct a stray piece of hair that had fallen into over the warrior's eyes. The younger woman quickly regretted her decision because the sleeping Xena awoke suddenly and held the blonde's wrist in an iron grip.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Xena growled out, her voice low and raspy.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you..."
The black haired woman's eyes narrowed further, she sat up and pressed her back tightly to the wall as she coolly regarded the petite blonde.
"How old are you, girl?"
"Almost twenty four summers old... I'm guessing you're not much older yourself." Gabrielle responded as she rolled back on her heels before moving onto the edge of the bed, her left hand rubbing absently at her right wrist.
"Twenty seven summers, although I would think you'd be younger."
"It's the height, I get that a lot. It's pretty unfortunate actually... My mother says I'll never get a good man with a face like mine, I just draw in the immature boys and lechers."
Xena remained silent but reached out and and gently stroked the young woman's chin, Gabrielle felt her breath catch in her throat as the sad eyes looked into her own. Despite the silence, the warrior's eyes spoke volumes.
Blushing the blonde finally pulled her head away, her eyes locking onto the rather irritated slash on the other woman's arm.
"That looks like it's getting infected... I'll be right back." Gabrielle said, rising from the bed quickly.
Xena's eyes followed after the smaller woman, she sighed and allowed her head to fall back until it rested against the cool wall behind her.
She didn't want to be awake, she didn't want to be alive. If anyone deserved to be alive it was Lyceus, he had been the one who kept her in check whenever they would raid villages. He was the reason that she hadn't killed women and children and left most of the men alive and kicking to tell the tale of the of the female warlord.
Tears burned behind her closed lids as she fought to keep down the despair that had been eating at her insides since she'd returned from the arena, balling her fists up tightly the warrior fought away the urge to scream.
Gabrielle paused in the doorway, her brows furrowing with worry as she took in the anguish written across the older woman's features. Her emerald eyes widened as Xena suddenly started slamming the back of her head into the wall, the blonde moved forward on instinct and wrapped her arms around the now sobbing woman.
"Shh... Get it out." She whispered, her voice soft as the warrior's body went limp in her arms. Almost a candle mark had passed when Gabrielle finally heard the other woman's breathing calm and even out, laying Xena down gently on her side before finally tending to the wound on her arm.
Dipping a small piece of fabric into the water based medicinal solution the ludus' medic had offered her. The wound was not significantly deep but having gone untreated the cut was now puffy and tinged with red. Dabbing the arm gently with the solution Gabrielle's eyes softened as she watched the warrior's brows twitched slightly in her sleep.
Once she had the injury cleaned and dressed she rose from the bed silently, giving one last glance towards the sleeping Xena before slowly making her way out of the gladiatrix's cell.
xxxxx
Xena's eyes fluttered open slowly, her head was throbbing and her mouth was dry. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep but she could tell she'd been crying, pinching the bridge of her nose the warrior sat up slowly.
She blinked and gazed around her empty cell, and then her eyes trailed down to her arm. She stared for a moment at the neatly tied dressing that had been applied to her wound but before she could think about it more she heard a small noise by the door.
"Good, you're awake!" Gabrielle said with a wide smile, Xena felt her lips twitch into a small smile of her own given the girl's contagious good mood.
"I brought you some food," the blonde said, her nose wrinkling slightly as her smile widened. "Fish and some kind of stew... I'm not often in the kitchen so forgive me if I don't know exactly what it is that I'm feeding you... But I can tell you that it tastes amazing."
The warrior watched as the girl approached with the deep tray, she was relieved that it had such steep sides because otherwise she would have had to worry about the steaming stew ending up in her lap. She could see the blonde's arms shaking as she attempted to keep the tray level as she reclaimed her seat on the cot, she barely managed to take her seat without spilling the stew.
Several minutes of silence passed between the two, Xena looked up as she placed her bowl back on the tray.
"I'm sorry for the other day... I didn't mean to insult you by assuming you were... A gift."
Gabrielle stared at her for a moment, a bit of stew dotting her lip. The blonde quickly moved to wipe the stew away before a blush slowly crept across her cheeks, "I-it's not a problem. I mean that is what they do..."
"But I don't want to think you look like a common whore, because you don't. Although you don't really strike me as a wealthy woman..."
Gabrielle's brows furrowed at this, her lips pulling down into a small frown. The warrior quickly cleared her throat and shook her head.
"I mean... You're very easy going, you're not snobby like most of them are."
"You mean I'm not like my mother."
Xena let out a small huff, once again pinching the bridge of her nose. "I didn't say that..."
"You don't have to, I agree with you. And I actually take it as a compliment, I try to distance myself from that sort of behavior. Mother hates that I do... She says she can never take me anywhere because I embarrass her."
Xena remained quiet, watching the shift in position as the younger woman tried to cover her emotions. But the warrior knew how it felt, having your parent want to hide you for being different. It had been how she lived every day of her life back home. Her mother would never have admitted it to her but she'd known that her daughter was different from the day she was born... And even though they'd loved one another they fought more than they got along.
"She gets so angry when I choose to sit in my room and read and write rather than play politics with her and her friends."
Xena chuckled lightly at the irony, "That was one of the few times my mother was truly proud of me, when I learned to read. Although didn't last long once I ran away..."
Gabrielle looked up finally, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. She sniffed and smiled softly before placing her bowl next to Xena's.
"Looks like we have more in common than I thought."
"It typically works that way." Gabrielle added with a chuckle, Xena was about to respond when her door was suddenly flung open.
A much larger guard stood in the doorway, his spear pointed towards Xena. "Up, now. Batiatas wishes to see you."
Gabrielle stood up slowly, the tray forgotten as she moved towards the guard. "I'm sure she'll come willingly if you ask a little nicer. Brandishing your weapon aggressively like that is completely unnecessary."
The guard looked towards the blonde but held his position, "Your father would like to see you as well, m'lady."
Gabrielle sighed and looked towards Xena who had gotten to her feet, she was glaring angrily at the guard but said nothing as she was lead to Batiatas' study.
The lanista was waiting for them, a large chalice of wine held tightly in his right hand. He glared at his daughter, "You were not to speak to this woman again, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle glanced towards her mother who was lingering by the doorway, the woman averted her eyes and said nothing. Gabrielle looked back towards her father her jaw set tightly, "Yes father, please forgive me. I was merely trying to get her to eat."
Batiatas glanced towards his wife but said nothing more on the subject, instead he looked towards Xena.
"I've been meaning to speak with you, gladiatrix. What happened to your brother is extremely tragic..."
Xena's lip pulled up into a snarl, "Don't play the fool Batiatas, I know that was you're doing!" She cried, her voice breaking as she tried to reign in her emotions.
The lanista grinned and swirled his wine, "I may have drawn up the plans... But you acted them out. And quite well I might add, even his begging didn't stop you."
Xena stared at him, her eyes dark with fury. "He did not beg! I did not recognize him!" She cried, fighting the guards who were holding her.
Batiatas' grin widened, "Oh, but he did my dear. And everyone saw it but you. I'm sure if you'd listened you would have heard him as well but I cannot speak for that. I couldn't hear anything but the cheers from the crowd as you severed his head from his body..." Xena rushed forward, temporarily breaking free from the guards behind her. But two guards came forward from behind Batiatas, the tips of their spears pressing into the warrior's upper chest, just below her collar bone.
Xena's chest heaved, her hands balled tightly into fists as she stared into the eyes of the lanista. Pure hatred pooling in her pale blue eyes as she fought down the urge to lash out at the guards. Her body was in no condition to fight, she would most likely empty her stomach before she could land a single punch.
Batiatas nodded to one of the guard's closest to the alternate entrance to the room, the guard returned shortly after and Xena felt her heart stop. She let out a strangled sob and lowered her eyes. "Mother..."
Gabrielle looked between the older dark haired woman and her father, her expression appalled.
"Father, what are you doing?" She cried, the man raised his hand to his daughter. His eyes never leaving the spot where Xena had fallen to her knees, "Stop this!"
Gabrielle glanced towards her mother but Lucretia was watching her husband intently, her fingers just brushing her lips.
"Now, you told me you were going to obey me before... And you didn't come through. Your brother paid for your disobedience, do not make history repeat itself Xena. You will fight, or your mother will die."
Cyrene was shaking, her eyes set on only Xena. The woman looked up slowly, the shame and guilt burning in her chest. "Mother, I'm so sorry..."
Cyrene shook her head, "No, you're no child of mine...!" She cried out, her anger and anguish clouding her judgement as her daughter once again turned her eyes towards the floor.
Gabrielle watched the scene with sadness, the pain that Xena was in was like nothing she'd ever seen. She knew how politicians could be and how badly her parent's wanted to be in the secluded circle of the elite but she wondered if all of this was worth it. She wondered how as human beings they could do this to another, "I believe you've gotten your point across father. Let me take Xena back to her cell..."
Batiatas turned on his daughter suddenly, the back of his hand landing heavily upon her cheek. "You will do no such thing! Guard, escort her to her chambers and make sure she doesn't come out for the rest of the night. And you two, take her back to her cell where she belongs. Send the medic in to make sure she'll be fit to fight in the arena, there's another big event coming up within the next few days. I want her to be one of my fighters."
xxxxx
A day had passed since Xena was inspected by the medic, the man had informed Batiatas that as long as she returned to her training a few days before and stuck to a regular diet she would be more than ready to return to the arena. He had redressed her arm and cleaned out the two puncture marks to her upper chest and deemed them insignificant. He'd also checked her reflexes and her stamina. The warrior had gone through the movements as if by instinct, there was something cold and calculated about everything she did during training now. She and the other new gladiators had all been merched into classes with the veterans of the arena.
Crixus watched the woman with interest, he crossed his arms across his broad chest before approaching her. Xena knocked her opponent to his feet, Barca glared up at her from the sands.
"Letting a rookie get the best of you already, Beast of Carthage?" Crixus asked, his tone sarcastic.
"Shut up you horses ass, she just got lucky." The man spat out as he quickly climbed to his feet, Crixus glanced towards Xena.
"You may be a decent fighter but I still find it insulting to fight on the same sands as a woman. You'd better not slow us down, gladiatrix."
Xena glared at him for a second before turning to head in for lunch, her eyes drifting up towards the villa. Gabrielle watched her sadly as she looked away and continued forward until disappearing under the overhang.
The blonde turned away from the balcony, her lips turned down into a soft frown. She moved back inside, moving quickly through the hallways and glancing occasionally through any open doors. She paused as she finally came across what she was looking for, "Uhm... Excuse me."
Cyrene glanced over her shoulder, the sheet she was folding almost sliding from her fingers as she half turned to face the younger woman. "Yes m'lady? What can I do for you?" She asked in a hurried voice, her eyes looking everywhere but Gabrielle's.
"Please, look at me."
Cyrene raised her eyes slowly, the pale blue the same as her daughter's. Gabrielle reached out and took the woman's hand, her brows furrowed with sympathy. "I am truly sorry for your loss, and I wanted you to know that I do not condone my parent's decisions... If there was anything I could do to fix this, I would. I am so sorry."
She watched as the older woman's eyes teared up, Cyrene moved forward and wrapped the blonde up in her arms. Her sobs moving both of their bodies as she wept on Gabrielle's shoulder. After a few moments Cyrene moved to pull away and Gabrielle smiled warmly at her, "If there is ever anything you need. Come to me and let me know, I will do my best to help you in whatever way I can."
"Thank you dear, you're truly kind... But I've held you up long enough today, I will however keep your words in mind for the future."
Gabrielle nodded before turning to leave but just as she was getting ready to round the corner Cyrene's voice stopped her, "One request for you... You have a kind heart, would you please... Take care of my daughter whenever you have the opportunity to? She and I have never seen eye to eye... And it will be sometime before I will be able to fully forgive her for what has happened... And I've already hurt her deeply with my words... But they were spoken out of anguish, I love my daughter. I loved all of my children and if I can't be there for her right now... I would like to believe that there is someone who could be. And I think you have enough goodness in your heart to do so."
Gabrielle nodded, she could feel her eyes beginning to sting as the woman opened up to her. "I will do my best, you'll be hearing from me."
Cyrene watched as the younger woman disappeared, she sighed and looked down at her work. She regretted what she'd said to her daughter but the pain had been too much. She'd been in the arena when Lyceus was killed and she couldn't get the image out of her head. Closing her eyes the woman tried to will the memory away but was met only with disappointment.
"One day at a time..." She whispered as she refolded the sheet before picking up another.
I considered making this longer to be around the same length as the other chapters... But I think this is actually a good place to end it. So I apologize, it's a little shorter than I was originally intending on it being. I may take a hiatus from this story to finish "Stranger". It will be my first story that I finish and I want to get to it before I start to lose the clear image I have for the ending. So for those of you reading Stranger, we're getting closer to the best part. ;)
I also need to do some more planning on this story, not sure how I want it to end. Not sure if I want it happy, sad, similar to Spartacus or just completely new. We'll see. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.