Another familiar voice rang out through the air. It was one that Xena would swear she'd never hear again having hoped they'd taken care of her over fifteen years ago. But that was just their luck. How many times had Callisto come back over the years? Some people or gods just didn't know enough to stay dead. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. I bet you wished had now!" Varia's voice was smug and so assured.
"Varia." Xena nearly hissed the word as her jaw had clenched instantly. The warrior princess did regret not killing her. On more than one occasion the bitch of an amazon had gone after her wife. Her first instinct had been to kill her but the ex-warlord had thought that had reflected her dark past. Perhaps it had reflected just how well she knew people and how rare it was that they could change. She of course was living proof but she also had a reason to have changed and keep that transformation.
That reason's voice rang out clear into the night. "Varia, are you really that desperate for revenge that you would resurrect one of the most insane amazons that ever existed?" All four were kissing earth in an instant as flames shot out from the darkness. "And she's still a little touchy." This was in a bare whisper that she knew Xena and the twins could hear. "You never were a true amazon, Valeska! If only you'd accepted me as queen things would never have gotten out of hand."
"You are in no position to be telling me anything." Valeska was as overconfident as ever. "You are no amazon! You have no taste of blood! You never wanted war. All you ever wanted was peace. You got the title by default. I won't stand for it. Nor will a lot of the amazons." That was said with a laugh. There was a flash of some kind of smoke and Xena figured that the insane goddess had disappeared wanting to let her amazons battle.
"We need to get to cover." Xena was still on her stomach. "We're sitting ducks here in the torchlight." Unfortunately for the quartet there was only the healer's hut at their backs. That would allow coverage but there would be no weapons and who knew which amazon was truly on their side. As usual things were going par for the course. "Let's just get out of here and we'll figure out what to do once we get under cover."
Gabrielle was the closest so she began to crawl on her hands and knees. She could just hear Varia's taunts about the queen having to crawl on her hands and knees. Part of her allowed that to burn at her and part of her just let the inner warrior take over. The warrior knew that sometimes you had to retreat before you could go on the offensive. It wasn't often that she and Xena had to do that over the years but she knew that even her wife would agree with her. She'd hate it but agree.
A few arrows flew out but they were aimed high and in the torchlight they made perfect targets. Xena mused at the waste of ammunition just to try and scare them. It might work on her children, though she highly doubted that, but it would not work on her wife or herself. Finally all four had gotten inside and shut the door bracing it shut. Without a spoken word Jasmine went to one window and Skylar went to the other. Xena remained at the door watching as Gabrielle made her way to Solari.
The amazon regent was lying in a cot with a guard on either side of her. Both guards put an arm across their chests as Gabrielle approached. The bard nodded in recognition of the salute and sat down on the stool next to the tall woman. It was eerie how much the woman lying in the bed reminded her of her good friend who unfortunately had died a warrior's death long ago. The woman was tall and dark haired and broad shouldered. Definitely an image of her friend from long ago crossed her mind.
It was also eerie that Solari should be in charge. Along with Ephiny, their friend Solari had been one of the keys to attempt to distract Valeska and try to keep the bard safe. Though they were only doing what amazons were expected to do the bard had always thought that the tall amazon had done it out of friendship as much as out of duty to their queen. "So, seems we find ourselves in a real mess." Gabrielle reached out and took the woman's hand.
Solari looked taken aback at first but then remembered the stories that great her aunt and namesake had told her over the years. Gabrielle may not have been born an amazon or been what some considered a true amazon, her Aunt Solari had told her she was the best queen and the best warrior she'd ever known. This softer side that her queen had just shown by taking her hand so freely was that side that others thought brought weakness. Not the regent. "I don't know what is going on to be honest. Out hunting and got this." She painfully wriggled her shoulder an apparent arrow wound.
"Let me guess. You thought that it was just a stray arrow by a young amazon on their first hunt?" Gabrielle watched as the answer ran across the regent's face. So this was to draw us here. What a shock. Well the shock of who but not of how or why. "Varia's back." Eyes went wide. The amazon had been around under the exqueen's rule. "But she has some godly help. You hear the story of Valeska?" Eyes so wide it was almost scary were her answer. "So we're trapped in here. Who knows who's on their side?"
The amazon regent managed to get herself into an upright sitting position. Solari looked at her queen. The tone of Gabrielle's voice had been so matter of fact like nothing really special or urgent was happening. It was, she thought, the mark of a true queen and a true leader. Of course it didn't hurt that her wife was Xena who was intimidating as ever and had the mind of a warlord. "Well, we do have one thing in our favor. In the time after you were both assumed dead we were attacked by a certain person."
The warrior princess spared a look at her wife and the regent. A chill had gone down her spine at hearing the unspoken name. Eve. That would have been who she was talking about. Of course then she would have been known as Olivia but still it was their daughter no doubt that had been attacking the village. That probably had been when Ares had been influencing her. Speaking of that no good piece of centaur dung caused her to wonder if he had a hand in this at all.
Gabrielle turned back to Solari not expressing what she was feeling inside. Dealing with Valeska brought back some painful memories and some pleasant ones. It was the second time that she lost Xena. Only the second time felt so permanent and when she had realized it was really Xena in Autoclyus body her heart had soared. But then they had to deal with the fallout of her taking the queen's mask and then the goddess that Valeska had turned into.
Her mind leapt to the next painful time in her life. It wasn't long after their second resurrection. They were still reeling and dealing with the fact that they had lost twenty five years and many people that they had cared for. One of them was their daughter Eve. With the help of a certain god of war their daughter had almost made Xena's past look saintly. Of course the worst was that it had come under the Roman Empire. Then Varia and the challenge once Eve had reformed. The bard's head was aching from being on emotional overload.
Solari took in the exchange of looks and the tense face of her queen and she knew without having to say more that both women knew exactly who she was talking about and the situation that she was referring to. She felt it was best not to dwell on the unimportant details. "Well after that situation we had found some of our fellow amazons trapped in various parts of the village cut off from weapons. So we spent the next year digging tunnels."
That got the warrior's attention. She took one last look around satisfied that no one was going to be stupid enough to approach. If it were Valeska well not much any of them could do about that. The tall dark haired woman stood behind her wife and put a comforting hand upon her shoulder. Through their connection she could feel a simple relief at her touch and the sadness of the thought of Eve. "You mean that every hut is connected?" Her voice was gruff.
The regent looked up at the tall warrior. The entire amazon nation was still in awe of the fighting skills of the warrior princess. Though some hated the reason for Xena being so connected to the tribe and they would all agree that none could touch her when it came to fighting skill. "Well, almost all of them. This hut is one of the ones connected. There are only a few areas that are not connected such as the bathing huts and stables. Though we probably should have the stables."
It was already giving the warrior princess the start of the plan. Would it have been nice if the stables were connected but of course. But the armory was connected as was the mess hall. This all was making the warrior get a tingling sensation. It was back. That planning and the first inklings of battle raising her adrenaline causing a flush to her skin. There was only one thing that compared and it made this feeling pale in comparison. "This could work out well for us." The warrior smiled big.
Gabrielle put a hand on the hand that was on her shoulder. That overwhelming feeling of anticipation of a fight was surging throughout her wife which meant that it was also flowing throughout the bard. The first few times she had felt it after their connection had been made it had not frightened the bard but definitely surprised her. But after a few times she began to realize that it wasn't the thrill of battle that Xena was feeling as just a readying of her body to do what it had to do. It was a bit intoxicating though.
"Are there any guards in the tunnels?" Gabrielle's voice startled the planning warrior princess. "I assume that Varia knows about the tunnels and therefore they could be compromised depending on just how much support that she has." The battling bard felt her wife's hand tense under hers. It was rare when she actually thought of something that Xena hadn't but that was why long ago they had formed a partnership. It wasn't just about one taking charge though to this day she still happily deferred to her wife to take the lead.
Solari looked at her like she had grown an extra head or something. "Why would we man the tunnels?" The regent shook her head. "Those are for emergencies only. Four times a year we check to make sure that they tunnels are still intact but other that we don't really…" She trailed off as she realized that she was getting a glare from the warrior princess. "I see now our mistake. But we really don't have the resources to guard the tunnels. If you hadn't noticed, our tribe is thinning out. We're fighting just to survive."
Xena straightened at not only the tone but the words. No, neither she nor Gabrielle had noticed. It had been months since either had ventured to the amazon village assuming with no word that everything was all right. After all, that was their arrangement. At least the queen would come every few months unless there were issues and then a messenger would come and get them. That got the warrior thinking. "So, just how long has this thinning out been going on? And just how has the thinning about come about?"
Solari looked at the queen. This was one of the few times she hated dealing with Xena. This was a true matter for the amazons and not her though she was a warrior. But it was the queen that had the right and should be the one asking questions. Of course since they had married it was common for most to just accept Xena as a consort but since they never had an amazon ceremony the stricter of the amazons would not accept her as such. She was one of them.
However one look at Gabrielle and she knew that she better answer the warrior princess and treat her with respect. "It started during the spring just after your last visit. There were a few accidental deaths and then there was this large group of women that just up and left saying they wanted to go with the northern tribe and live a wilder existence. I suggested we all pool together since numbers were dwindling but no one wanted to hear it."
"I'm just hearing about this now?" Though Gabrielle at times was loathe to be amazon queen she still took very seriously her position. That was why she had helped Ephiny to reunite with Philantes. That was why she and Xena had found Ephiny's son and his family a wide open well hidden land and remarkably had found more centaurs. "I always want to know what is going on with my people. I know we are not as close as in the time of your aunt and Ephiny but I stand by my responsibility. Because of you and your inactions we now face a grave danger."
Solari looked at the queen with a questioning look. She could not understand what she was talking about. How were a handful of deaths and a group splintering off that big of a deal? True, it lowered their numbers and left them with fewer warriors but it was just the nature of things. That happened a lot in amazon tribes as amazons by nature were a restless people always wanting war or some kind of action. "How is it that this put us in danger?" The tall amazon swung her legs over the cot she was sitting up on and carefully stood to her full height. She did not like being challenged.
Gabrielle stood to her full height which, while not dwarfed by the taller amazon, definitely was overshadowed by her. She could feel Xena stretching to her full height and that gave her a measure of comfort. "You put us in danger because those were not just random deaths. The ones that were killed were supporters of yours and mine?" She barely waited for the regent to nod her head. "And the ones that left never liked me as queen?" This time there was no nod just an adverting of the eyes. "Why is it that amazons are featherheads?"
"Pardon me?" Solari took a threatening step toward her queen even with Xena standing there with her hand on her sword hilt. Had the regent been paying attention she would have noticed two others in the room with their hands on weapons and it wasn't her guards. The younger two kept looking outside but also had heard the confrontation and knew that it was getting out of hand. "I am not a featherhead. I'm a warrior. I lead how I feel the women of this tribe want me to. If we had a fulltime queen…"
Her voice was cut off as Gabrielle took a swing at her friend. There was a resounding cracking sound as the bard's fist hit a solid jaw. Blood flew across the room as the contact split the regent's lip and began to bleed. The amazon queen flexed her hand having not done that in a very long time. "I never asked to be queen. I just happened to do a decent thing for a stranger many moons ago. I came to you fifteen years ago and tried to give up my position but YOU all said that I could never give it up. So don't give me that crap about not having a fulltime queen. If you'd had the sense that a wild boar had you'd know enough to message me when things like that happened."
Solari looked like she wanted to go after the queen but something restrained her. Was it the fact that the warrior princess had now drawn her sword? Was it the fact that now that she looked past the two women she saw that their children had their weapons drawn as well? Or was it the fact that the part of her that was a true amazon was coming out and she knew that she had crossed a line and disrespected her queen. "Your majesty." She nodded her head and put her arm across her chest. "I was in the wrong to both not have informed you and to have challenged your allegiance."
The regent relaxed visibly at the sound of various weapons being put away. Part of her still had her doubts about the way the amazons were ruled. She made a mental note to herself to dig further into just how the right of caste could be handed down. After dealing with Gabrielle for so long from a distance she knew that it would be the same if her daughter was to take over one day. This was not working out. But for now they had a very real and dangerous threat to everyone.
"We'll talk about it later." Gabrielle gave her a look that could curdle milk. She hated it. She hated Varia and Valeska and the whole damned situation. They already were on their way to deal with Romans now they had to deal with the stupidity of the current amazons. Ephiny was right to be sad to see how far her people had fallen. I guess it's partially my fault. And yet they knew I'd be here if they needed me. "Right now we have to check out the tunnels and see how many warriors are left here. Not to mention how we are going to deal with a goddess."
Without another word she turned her back on the regent who finally sat back down on the cot. It had been sheer will that had kept the tall amazon standing. Between her arrow wound and that hit with surprising force her ability to stand had come to an end. That was not to mention the emotional mess that was now her mind. Oh how she was loathing her queen at the moment. Or was it that she was loathing the fact that Gabrielle had been right in everything she said and did?
Xena put an arm around her wife's waist in a brief hug. It was enough to comfort the younger woman if only for a moment. The couple made their way to their children that had been listening if not watching intently. The warrior princess eyed both of them. They knew. There was no question they had heard and saw everything. "All right. This is what we need to do. You two need to stay here and keep watch." Under her breath she said, "I don't trust any of the amazons at the moment. Just keep your eyes open and signal if you see anything. No doing anything stupid."
Gabrielle watched a mixture of emotions go across her children's faces. Jasmine was so like her mother that she wanted to go and be where the fight was. Skylar was so much like her that he wanted to be where his parents were. Go figure on that. "Your mother and I are going to check out the tunnels. If things get too bad forget about this place and take to the tunnels. Just let your instincts lead you." The family shared a moment of unspoken bonding before the couple turned to the trap door.
"I would say after you your majesty but you know." Xena winked at her wife. Gabrielle knew all right. When there was possible danger the warrior princess always went first. It was how it always had been and though the bard knew how to fight she still trusted her wife's instincts and reflexes just a little bit more than her own. The warrior cautiously lifted back the door to the tunnel. It was dark and musty smelling so overall not an inviting place. Before she could ask for one, Gabrielle had a torch in Xena's hand.
Right away she wished she hadn't. There were the remains of two amazons blocking the ladder. It made the bard's stomach lurch just a little as she had never gotten used to that sight. Xena took her sword and gently pushed them out of the way. The warrior descended without using the ladder and hopped neatly a couple times. The torch light flickered but remained lit. A curse that would have made Ares blush escaped the warrior.
There were about a dozen amazons all armed with swords and crossbows taking aim at the warrior princess. Before any of them could react she was squatting down and gaining momentum so that she could relaunch herself through the hole which she had just dropped down. "Well, they know about the tunnels. Hurry. Get as much heavy stuff on here as you can." The warrior quickly moved and grunted as she moved the heaviest thing she could find which was the fresh water barrel.
Jasmine and Skylar were instantly on either side of her helping. Gabrielle had her weight on the trap door hoping it would be enough until they could get the barrel over. That was when she felt herself losing her balance. The blond bard was sent flying and hit her head on one of the cots. It was lights out for the bard and in an instant the room was being overflowed with about a dozen amazons. Every crossbow was trained on the queen just daring for someone to make a move.
an-hope all are enjoying this. any feedback would be much appreciated!