A SHADOW OF STRENGTH - CHAPTER 4: THE TEMPLE OF TONGUES
by Muffinly
Gabrielle awoke in the healer's hut, a dull pain in the front of her head.
"What happened?" She asked, "My head feels like it was stepped on by a centaur."
"It looks like," the old healer said, "you fell from a tree. One of the youths found you bleeding from the skull in the woods. You'll be fine, though. A few days rest is all you need."
Varia entered the hut with Gabrielle's bag of scrolls in her hand, "I thought you might want these to keep you busy. How are you feeling?"
"Kinda like back when you beat me up." Gabrielle smiled.
Varia turned to the healer, "Would you leave us for a moment?"
The healer nodded and left without a word.
"Gabrielle," said Varia, sitting beside the bed, "what happened in the woods today?"
Gabrielle sighed, "I…" she thought back, "Xena was supposed to catch me."
"She's not real, Gabrielle," said Varia, "It's all in your head."
"When I was a girl," Gabrielle said, "I thought that I could tell the future. I called it the 'gift of prophecy'."
Varia nodded, unsure where the story was going.
"My sister, Lila, called me crazy. My predictions were never right. I once predicted a flood when we had a drought, but I told her that what mattered was that I knew something strange would happen with the rain." She took a deep breath, "No matter how much evidence there was against it, I still always believed I had this made-up ability. I think I even still do, sometimes, in the back of my mind."
"Gabrielle-"
"Xena always liked how optimistic I was, always looking at the the brighter side of things and seeing the good in people despite all we've been through. But that was never it. I wasn't optimistic, I was delusional."
"You've been through so much, and you lost the person you loved most in the world," said Varia, "You will get through it. Stay here a while, we will help you."
Gabrielle nodded slowly, but she disagreed. No, she would never get through it. Her mind simply didn't work that way, it clung to whatever it could to believe what it wanted. Which was why she needed more than ever to bring Xena back.
The old healer returned and Varia nodded to her, "Thank you, Thais."
"Yes, my Queen," said the healer said with a small bow.
Varia left and Gabrielle sat, thinking for a moment. She reached into her bag and pulled out the scroll that she'd found in Egypt, staring at the impossible characters, trying to figure out even one word.
"I have never seen such a language in my life," said Thais as she caught a glimpse of the scroll, "I once knew a woman who simply loved to read different tongues, there wasn't one she could not understand."
"Yeah?" said Gabrielle, her interest piqued.
"Oh, yes," said the old woman, becoming lost in a memory, "It is said that Hermes himself fell in love with her and taught her every language Man has ever spoken."
"Where might I find this woman?" Gabrielle asked, her heart suddenly racing.
"Her name is Euphemia, she is a priestess at a temple in Nicopolis." She suddenly arched an eyebrow at Gabrielle, "You cannot go there, not right now. You must rest."
"Uh-huh."
That night, when the village was asleep besides the women guarding the perimeter, Gabrielle silently left the hut and retrieved Argo II from the stable.
"Queen Gabrielle?" Aridike squinted through the darkness as she guarded the entrance to the city, "'Gabrielle, you should be resting."
"Shh, Aridike," said Gabrielle, "I'm alright, really. Don't try to stop me, you know I could subdue you," although there was no threat in her voice.
Aridike thought for a moment and then, concern in her features, nodded.
"Thank you for all you have done for me, and for your concern, Aridike. Take care."
And Gabrielle road off into the night, headed for Nicopolis.
It was a long journey, and she was pleased to finally arrive. She found herself feeling incredibly small in light of the temple's vastness.
"It is beautiful," Xena remarked, beside her again.
Gabrielle did not answer, but took a deep breath as she pushed open the heavy doors.
The hall seemed empty, but Gabrielle could hear the unmistakable rhythm of a quill on parchment. She squinted, and at the end of the hall could see a small old woman, eyes closed but writing away as though she were playing an instrument.
"Hello?" said Gabrielle, clearing her throat.
The woman seemed to look right through her, "Who are you?"
"My name is Gabrielle of Potadeia," she thought for a moment, and stood straighter hoping to intimidate, "companion of Xena, the Warrior Princess, and former Queen of the Amazons."
If the woman at all recognized her titles, she did not show it. "That is your name, and your title," said the woman, "but who are you? What is it you do?"
"I am…-" a warrior, she thought, "I am a bard."
"Oh, another? You would not believe how many bards come to me, seeking to change their stories so that they may be told across the world. Oh, how dull their stories all are!"
"I have something more interesting," Gabrielle insisted, taking out her scroll, "I have this scroll, but I cannot read the letters, and I thought-"
"My girl, are you dense?" The woman scoffed. "I am blind! I cannot translate that for you. Hermes taught me every language, but he angered Zeus who believed only the Gods could surpass language, and so Zeus blinded me to keep me from becoming too strong. I am sorry to say that I can only translate into other tongues what you can read aloud to me."
"It's okay, Gabrielle," Xena said, "There's always another way."
"There's got to be another way," said Gabrielle, panic rising again in her stomach, "something you can do, anything."
"Don't get your tunic in a twist," said the old woman, "I do have a potion that will briefly give you the ability that I have, to understand other tongues, but only for a few moments. But I do warn you, it is known to drive people insane."
I already am, Gabrielle did not hesitate, "Give it to me, please," she nearly begged, "I can handle it."
After a moment of thought, the woman nodded and went to a shelf full of bottles and pouches. She felt around until she located a bottle full of a brown liquid. She procured a small cup from nearby it and reached for a blank scroll, all of which she passed to Gabrielle.
"Don't drink more than the cup," she passed her quill to Gabrielle, "You may forget what you read. I would write it down."
Forget? Gabrielle scoffed, she wasn't an idiot. But she trusted this woman, and after pouring the cup full of the potion, she gripped the quill in her right hand and brought the liquid to her lips with her left. Bracing herself, she drank.
NOTES: Have you ever noticed that Gabby hates trees? Every time she loses someone close to her (Perdicus, poisoned Xena, Eli, etc.) her first instinct is always to go attack a poor innocent tree to get her anger out...
Xena has dealt with dead Gab but we've never seen Gabby deal with dead Xena for an extended period of time and I think poor Gab royally sucks at coping with that stuff because y'know who she needs to help her cope with that stuff? XENA! And she's fuckin' dead!
Ah, I wrote this entire story in a sudden burst of creative brain power and I thought I would post the thing online 'cause why not? I wanted to wait a time before posting each chapter but screw it, I'll post them as I feel like it!
Thank you for your indulgence!