Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Little Bard: Chapter 4
The ride to the town was uneventful, so Xena took the opportunity to have that promised long discussion. She carefully reminded Gabrielle about the importance of her rules, emphasizing not wondering off, staying put when told to do so, and the need to follow her orders immediately and without question. It wasn't an easy conversation, as Xena had to fight her naturally gruff manner. She was use to giving orders and having them obeyed, but over the years she had come to understand Gabrielle. She knew that, at least the adult version, the bard would respond much better if she used logic and reasoning in her argument. The warrior had learned at long time ago that "because I said so" didn't fly very well with the bard.
So, in a great exercise of patience and self-control, Xena skillfully explained why Gabrielle must listen to her. She tried to hit the right balance – not wanting to scare Gabrielle, but at the same time giving her enough information to understand the dangers. She was careful to stress the hazards of the road and explained how dangerous it was to be traveling as they did.
Once satisfied that Gabrielle understood Xena's points they had spent the rest of the time in idle conversation. Idle for Xena and conversation for Gabrielle, as the little bard whole-heartily indulged her need to constantly hear her own voice. Xena promptly tuned her out, using some of her many skills to insert the appropriate 'yeah,' or 'mmhmm' as required. It was almost like old times.
Even with the constant chatter, the time flew by quickly and before they knew it they had arrived at their destination, the not-so-sleepy village of Neapolis. Xena ignored the looks as she rode into town. It was inevitable that someone would recognize her, or at least be wary of her. There weren't too many women who chose the warrior lifestyle, and those that did usually meant trouble. Studying the layout of the town, Xena noticed that it had grown since she'd been there last –a good twelve or thirteen years ago– but then that was also a lifetime ago. At the time, the town had been a tiny little village, too small for Xena's budding army to concern itself with, so they had passed it by in favor of more profitable targets.
It didn't take Xena long to locate a stable, where she made sure Argo was taken care of, and then locate the inn to care for herself and Gabrielle. Xena struck up a conversation with the inn-keeper, deciding he was trustworthy enough from the way he ran his establishment. It was clean and fairly priced. The food too, turned out to be decent, and the mead she ordered wasn't overly watered down. Deciding she made a good choice for the evening she settled Gabrielle and herself down at a corner table where they were both enjoying their first decent meal in days.
Gabrielle was devouring her second bowl of stew when the inn door suddenly burst open. "Syrus!" a sandy-haired man in his early twenties yelled, "Quick! Darnan and his crew are back. They have reinforcements this time, at least a dozen men."
The inn-keeper cursed, throwing a towel down on an empty table. "Damn fool. Gather the boys, Dion, and be quick about it. We need to avoid them doing any damage, like last time."
As the young man nodded and ran back out the door, the inn-keeper made his way around the bar and retrieved an old, worn sword. Just as he turned to follow Dion, Xena stopped him.
"Perhaps I can help. Who is this Darnan?"
"The leader of a group of local thugs. They've been raiding the town, extorting money from the merchants. Already wrecked three shops this month, I'm not going to let them get a forth," Syrus answered. "We would welcome the help. What did you say your name was?"
"Xena."
The inn-keepers eyes went wide. "Now look, we don't want any trouble…"
Xena raised an eyebrow, but before she could reply, Gabrielle beat her too it. The little girl stood up, and was throwing jade-colored eye-daggers at the inn-keeper. "Look here, Mister. If Xena says she'll help… that's exactly what she'll do. You'll be smart to listen to her too. She knows what she is doing."
Syrus blinked, surprised by the outburst and the sheer gall coming from the little girl. "Alright, we could use the help, but this better not be a trick."
Xena narrowed her eyes, but nodded her consent. "Let's go." Then she turned to Gabrielle, noticing the little girl had begun to follow her. "No, you stay here."
"Xena!" Gabrielle protested. "How am I supposed to help from in here?"
"Not this time. Promise me you'll stay in here."
Gabrielle frowned.
"Remember our talk earlier?" Xena pressed. "No questions, you stay where I tell you to stay."
The little girl crossed her arms in a pout, but relented, "Alright, I'll stay."
Xena smiled and rewarded the bard with a quick kiss to the forehead before she followed the inn-keeper out the door.
Watching the warrior go, Gabrielle sighed. "I hate it when she does that."
"Does what?" a voice asked.
Gabrielle looked up, seeing a teenage girl. The girl held out her hand, "Hi. My name in Venita."
"Gabrielle," the bard returned, accepting the greeting and grasping the teen's forearm. She wrinkled her forehead, there was something about the girl. Her high cheek bones and grey-blue eyes were friendly, almost familiar.
"Who was that warrior woman anyways?" Venita asked, pulling Gabrielle from her thoughts. "She doesn't look enough like you to be your mom. She some kinda guardian or something?"
"No," Gabrielle responded, still in her pouting mode.
"Hey, you're not some kind of princess who needs a tall, dark, and deadly bodyguard, are you?" the girl teased, with a wink
"No," Gabrielle shook her head, suddenly feeling a strange tingling feeling on her forehead. For some reason what Venita had just said was making her feel uneasy. "Xena…she's my friend. My best friend."
"Ah, it must be nice to have a friend like that," Venita commented as she sat down on the bench across from Gabrielle.
"Yeah," Gabrielle returned before tensing as she heard Xena's high-pitched battle cry followed by the distinct sound of swords crashing. The little bard glanced toward the door, getting the odd feeling like something was missing. "This doesn't feel right. I should be out there with her."
"And Xena didn't go for that, huh?" Venita teased. "What do you expect? You're just a kid. She wanted you to stay safe and sound in here."
Gabrielle nodded her head, the girls teasing not helping her mood. "I promised I wouldn't follow her outside."
"Oh, yeah? But she didn't say you couldn't watch from in here… did she?"
"No, but…"
"I happen to know if little room up on the third floor that has a perfect view of the street," Venita offered.
Gabrielle grinned. "Show me."
^^-^8^-^^
Xena stayed in the background as Syrus confronted Darnan and his gang. As she watched, she wasn't surprised to see that the whole gang consisted of extremely young men, many of them still teenagers. Although well-muscled and a half a head taller than her, even Darnan himself wasn't much older, perhaps in his mid-twenties. Xena narrowed her eyes as she realized that she recognized the man standing to the left of Darnan. He was the first one that she had knocked unconscious earlier that morning, and he was sporting double black eyes to prove it. Scanning the rest of the group she recognized three more men, which meant there were at least two more unaccounted for.
"What do you want this time, Darnan?" Syrus called out.
"We'll go easy on you this time, old man. Turn over the warrior woman. She attacked some my men this morning, and I want her," Darnan answered as he pulled his sword and glared in Xena's direction.
Syrus looked uneasy. He glanced back toward Xena, but before he had a chance to respond, she stepped forward. "Really, Darnan, I'm surprised. Either you are an idiot, or your men are. I'm not sure what they told you, but think about it, do you really want to challenge me?"
Darnan answered by charging. With a yell he rushed forward, sword poised to strike. Xena waited until the last possible moment, side stepping the strike, but using her foot to trip Darnan. He ended up with a face full of dirt for his efforts.
She watched him go down, raising an eyebrow in amusement. He wasn't as entertained. He slowly stood, and turned back toward her. Wiping the dirt from his face, he yelled, "Attack!"
Xena didn't hesitate, with a quick battle yell she launched herself in the air, flipping over the flood of men that rushed toward her. She drew her sword as the men abruptly changed directions and headed toward her and away from the crowd of villagers.
^^-^8^-^^
Gabrielle eagerly helped Venita open the shutters for the third story window. As promised it gave a perfect view of the street down below. Xena was already engaged deep within the fight. She somehow had corralled the gang toward her, and away from the villagers. Gabrielle watched in awe as Xena did her dance of pleasure and pain. Even to her young mind she could see that Xena was enjoying herself. It was both an odd sensation and one that was strangely familiar.
She couldn't help but join the villagers as they cheered Xena's on. After a few minutes, and several well placed kicks and punches, the gang was successfully rendered harmless. They had been thrown all over the village square, where they lay in various states of consciousness and pain.
Xena wasted no time as she grabbed the semi-conscious Darnan by the collar and hauled him back to his feet. She then turned, addressing Syrus. Gabrielle couldn't make out what she was saying, but was suddenly distracted by movement. In the shadows across the street there was a man, and she was getting a very bad feeling about the way he seemed to be hiding. He moved again, pulling up a crossbow.
The hair stood up on the back of her neck as she realized he was aiming for Xena. She didn't think as she reacted and yelled a warning.
Xena's eyes flicked up to the window, and then she suddenly turned, using Darnan as a human shield to catch the arrow. The man grunted, his own weight collapsing under him as the arrow entered his thigh. Xena struggled under the sudden weight, but was able to shoot off her chakram. The weapon bounced twice before severing the string on the bow, and lodging itself into the chest of the bow's owner.
Xena looked back up at the window with narrowed eyes, giving Gabrielle a look that made her very uneasy. Gabrielle gulped, ducking down, and only letting her eyes peer over the sill as Xena attention turned back toward Darnan.
"She's upset with me," Gabrielle moaned, hoping to find some sympathy from her new friend. Not getting a response she looked into the room, only to find it empty. Confused, and suddenly feeling alone, Gabrielle sniffled. She was torn between being angry and frightened. She had just saved Xena's life, yet the warrior was upset with her. It didn't seem fair, and she just hoped she had the courage to tell that to Xena once the warrior confronted her.
^^-^8^-^^