GENERAL COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER: Xena: Warrior Princess, Callisto, Joxer and all other characters who have appeared in the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess, together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices. NOTE: All works remain the © copyright of the original author. These may not be republished without the author's consent.

REDEMPTION STORY

CHAPTER 7

Octavia took the clothes that Callisto had and looked at them holding them up to her.

"I think we can make these fit you just fine." She said.

"Good. While you are mending them I think I will go see if that tub in the backroom is good enough to hold water. I checked the well earlier and its working. A nice hot bath would be really nice."

A little while later after Gagnar had brought the water in, heating it on the fire and filling the tub for her, Callisto eased down into the warm water. It felt so good to her aching body.

As she relaxed in the bath, she looked around at the room. It looked almost like she remembered her Grandmother's house. The same plank walls and ceiling. There was a homemade bed with a comfortable pad stuffed with straw and covering it were thick wool blankets. On the wall was a drawing of what looked to be a flower garden. And on the opposite wall was an old mirror that went all the way to the floor.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember her Grandmother. Octavia reminded her of her in a way. She had the same kind eyes and soft touch.

She was taken from her thoughts when a quiet knock came at the door.

"Callisto? I've got your clothes ready."

"Come in Octavia, I'm almost done." She said.

The old woman came in closing the door behind her. She went over to the tub, as Callisto was climbing out. She was glad to see that her bruises were fading and her wounds were healing.

Callisto took the clothes and started to put them on when she stopped, staring at herself in the mirror. She ran her hand over the scars on her body, stopping over the bruises that were still on her abdomen.

Octavia stood watching and said,

"Those scars will fade away in time my dear. You are a very beautiful woman. They do not take that away from you."

Callisto just stared at her reflection in the mirror, and didn't say anything.

"Ok! Here finish getting dressed and come into the kitchen. I have some herbs that you need to take, it's important that you get them into you soon. They will help you stop being sick so you can gain your weight and strength back."

"Alright, good. I need to gain my stamina back as soon as possible. I normally am a match for Xena, but right now I'm afraid she'd get the upper hand on me." Callisto replied.

"Even when you are stronger, you still must use caution. The Fates have decided what will be and you must not be careless." The old woman whispered.

Callisto just looked at her with a questioning look, not sure what she meant by that.

"The Fates decide our future. You will understand in time, my dear."

That confused her even more. So she just let it be. If the old woman wants to be mysterious, then so be it. She trusted her enough to know that she knew what she was doing.

Gagnar had found a good spot to watch for Xena or any soldiers who may have come down the trail. He found that the loft of the old barn gave one an excellent advantage to see for a long way in both directions from the farm. He kept thinking about his encounter with Xena in the village. He knew she had seen him before; fighting with Callisto and it would be just a matter of time before she made the connection. She would find them soon. He could feel it, and when she did one or all of them would be dead. When Theodorus died he had said more than what he, Gagnar, had told Callisto. Theodorus made him promise on his life to never let them take her back to that prison and he wouldn't! There was no way those filthy pigs would get their hands on the Warrior Queen again! He only hoped he would be able to keep her alive long enough to get somewhere far away. They would have to stay one step ahead of Xena for sure because she would hunt them relentlessly until she found them.

He never fully understood this hatred between Callisto and Xena, but he knew it was that hatred that fueled everything Callisto did. It made her the ferocious warrior she is. She was consumed with vengeance for what Xena had done to her family many years before. It was obvious her hatred for Xena had driven her completely mad. Sometimes she would just kill for what seemed the sheer joy of it. It was those times that he was the most frightened of her.

He often wondered what Callisto was like before all that happened. He pictured her as being a sweet, innocent girl, whose big brown eyes were always wide open in awe of the world around her. When he first joined her army, he was definitely afraid of her. He still was. He knew what she was capable of and how quickly she could snap and when she did, someone would usually end up dead.

Since they escaped, she seemed a lot quieter. He supposed it was probably because of what she had been through these last few months at the hands of those guards. It would probably pass as soon as she was stronger she would be back to her old murderous self again. He knew they were going to have to fight harder than ever to keep from getting captured again. Would they ever be free of this? He doubted it. This time may be the end one way or another.

Callisto finished adjusting her sword onto the belt that Gagnar had brought her. It felt good to have clean clothes and have her hair clean once again. For the last six months she'd lived in nothing but filth. The linen shirt and leggings felt nice against her skin. She would have to get used to the boots though for they felt a little stiff after being barefoot for so long.

She had finished drinking the herbal tea, Octavia had made for her. Nasty stuff it was, too! But if it would help her regain her strength then it was worth it. Adding the finishing touch, her dagger, she headed for the barn to relieve Gagnar on watch.

Gagnar crouched down in the loft as he saw a figure approaching in the dark. He tightened his grip on his sword when he saw that it was Callisto.

"Gagnar?" she called as she came through the barn door.

"Up here, in the loft" He said

Seeing him overhead she started climbing the ladder to the loft to join him. The old barns musty smell making her slightly queasy. Gagnar reached his hand down to help her up to the loft floor.

"It's been quiet. No sign of Xena." He relayed to her.

"Good, but she will come. I know her too well. She is relentless when it comes to me especially. It's mutual I suppose. I've chased her all over Greece too. It is rather insane isn't it, Gagnar?"

"Callisto, we are going to need a new army, if we want to stay ahead of Xena and the soldiers. The two of us can't hold them off for long."

"It will be hard, Gagnar. It will probably be suicide if we try to take them on with just you and me. We don't have a choice though. There is no way we can gather an army right now. The whole countryside is looking for us. There's not a village or town we can go to without being seen."

"I guess you are right, Callisto. But what are we going to do? We need a plan to at least give ourselves a little bit of an edge. I'm just one man and you still are not back full strength yet." He said.

"We are both rusty too. Six months in that hell hole with no fighting has weakened both our skills. That's why Theodorus and the others were ambushed so easily. One thing we are going to do is prepare. We will start training and strengthening ourselves. I know all of Xena's moves and I will teach you how to fight her."

"Whenever you are ready, my Queen." Gagnar replied.

"Gagnar, just call me Callisto. After what I've been through, I don't feel very Queenly right now, ok. To be honest with you, I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of running, I'm tired of the insanity inside my head. I want it to go away, one way or another. I don't know what it is, Gagnar, but it's like something inside me is saying Stop! Enough! It's time to just try to find some peace. Do you know what I'm saying? Have you ever felt that way, Gagnar?"

"Yes. Sometimes I do. I can't help wonder if we will ever get the chance to find peace." He answered.

"I do know one thing for sure, Gagnar. I won't go back to that prison. I will die first. Gagnar…. I want you to promise me something."

"What, Callisto?"

"If something happens to me, if Xena or the soldiers capture me, I want you to kill me. Will you swear to me you will do that, Gagnar?"

"Kill you! Callisto I can't….." seeing her pleading look he sighed and said,

"Ok…Y..Yes"

Nothing more was spoken between them, only a look of understanding in their eyes.

Xena woke up, stretching her long legs and sat up in bed. After a good night's rest, today would be a day of hunting and her prey was Callisto. The feeling that she was nearby was stronger than ever. After thinking about it for a while, it finally came to her where she had seen that guy from the clothing merchant the day before. He was one of Callisto's men! She remembered him from when she had captured them and turned them over to the authorities.

That could only mean that they were hold up somewhere close to the village. He had left on foot, not on a horse, so they had to be within walking distance of the town. She would start by heading in the direction he ran off in yesterday.

With Argo saddled, she headed out of town and down the trail. It was dark when she came that way before and she could have missed signs of a camp if the fires had been put out. This time in the daylight she would not let anything slip past her.

The chill in the morning air caused Callisto to huddle down into the straw bed she'd made to sit on during the night, as she stood watch in the barn loft. The night had been uneventful. That was strange in itself. It had been TOO uneventful. They'd been here at the farm for three days and so far nobody had shown up. Xena had to be looking, and the soldiers. The farmhouse was secluded but not THAT secluded. She could have found it herself by now with no problem. Today would be the day they would face Xena. She could feel it. She took another look around the farm and the woods surrounding them before she prepared to climb down and head for the house and get some sleep. She still seemed to get tired and sleepy more easily since she escaped. But she was sure that would pass as soon as she got her strength back.

Callisto heard the barn door creak and Gagnar's voice as he announced himself ready to take his turn at watch.

"Callisto? It's me. I'm ready to take over now." He called out.

"I'm coming down, Gagnar. It was quiet all night. I didn't see anything or hear anything but crickets." She replied.

"That's strange really. I would have thought someone would have been by here by now." Gagnar said.

"I know. Something's not right about that. We couldn't be that lucky. I have a feeling Xena will make her move today. Be alert to anything. Ok." She told him as she was coming down the ladder.

"I will. I've got an anxious feeling about today as well. It just feels like something is in the wind." He said.

"Yeah. I know. Well I'm going in to get a little sleep. Sound the alert call if anything happens." Callisto said, heading for the house. Just as she was about to reach for the door, she felt sick again just for a second.

When she got inside the house she found Octavia waiting with more herbal tea.

"I had a feeling you would be needing this so I made some as soon as I got up."

Callisto sighed and took the cup of the horrid mixture from her and making a face swallowed down as much as she could before gagging and coughing.

"Octavia! This stuff will probably kill me before it cures me! By the Gods this is awful! Uhhhh!"

The old woman chuckled as she took the cup from her.

"Patience my dear, I assure you it won't kill you. It WILL help. Trust me."

"Well I don't think I'll need it much longer anyway. I seem to be gaining a small amount of weight back despite not keeping my food down very well." The blonde woman said as she walked into the other room and looked at herself in the mirror.

"See, I'm not so boney in the middle anymore. I should be back in fighting shape soon." She said confidently.

Octavia just looked at her and said with a faint smile,

"Yes I think you will gain weight quickly now."

The old woman said no more as she left the room looking over her shoulder at the young woman. She had a feeling Callisto would indeed experience many changes soon.

Xena had spotted the small farmhouse just as she rounded a bend in the trail. It was almost completely hidden behind a small grove of trees. It's no wonder she missed it the other night. You could barely see it even in the daylight. She would have not seen it now if it wasn't for a small glint of sunlight bouncing off a bucket hanging on the well rope in front of the house. It looked quiet, almost deserted. The garden was overgrown with weeds and had the look of neglect. The same with the old barn roof that was in need of repair. This would be a perfect place to hide. Callisto would definitely use a place like this as a new stronghold. She had probably already started building a new army.

She stepped down from Argo and led the mare into the trees across the trail and tethered her out of sight and sound of the house. Then she slipped back across to the edge of the woods beside the farm. Looking up she decide to climb a sturdy tree with thick foliage to get a better look. The tree offered a good view of the entrance to the farm; she decided she would stay here and watch. Callisto or some of her men had to show themselves sooner or later.