Wow! Thank you for the kind reviews you all left on the last chapter. The feedback means so much to me. I'm always open to constructive criticisms as well as compliments ;) Please let me know if this chapter is a confusing read. Thanks for your patience on the update!


Chapter 7: Best Laid Plans

The next morning, Gabrielle was slightly alarmed to find Atreus waiting outside of her room.

"Come with me," he instructed.

Gabrielle hesitated. "What about my duties?" She gestured toward the trio of slaves who were crossing the threshold, destined for the kitchens and the morning's chores. Their heads were lowered politely as they passed, but Gabrielle knew they were listening to the exchange with secret interest

"You have new ones," the captain replied simply. There was no further explanation, and he turned off down the corridor, apparently expecting her to follow.

With a heavy sigh, Gabrielle trailed after him. Atreus directed her back to the Conqueror's chambers, where Xena was awake and propped up by a mountain of pillows. Some of the color had returned to her cheeks, and though her expression was weary she looked much better than she had when Gabrielle left her the previous evening. She observed her servant's entrance with heavy-lidded eyes.

"I'll have Kora send up some of that tea, Conqueror," Atreus offered. "It would do well for your stomach."

"Stop fussing, Atreus," the Conqueror growled. "I'm not an invalid."

"I can see you're feeling better already!"

"Go to Tartarus."

"I've already been." He offered her a roguish grin. "I couldn't afford Charon's toll."

Gabrielle suppressed her grin with some effort, and Atreus winked at her conspiratorially. Xena, on the other hand, glared at her captain through narrowed eyes. She appeared on the verge of seizing the nearest weapon—an embroidered silk pillow—and tossing it at him as punishment for his cheek. Then, abruptly, she chuckled. Gabrielle had never seen the Conqueror display any sense of camaraderie or light-heartedness toward anyone, and could scarcely believe it now.

"Fine, then, I'll drink the gods-be-damned tea," the woman growled.

Still smiling, Atreus bowed with an overly extravagant sweep his hand, and then departed. When he was gone, the Conqueror closed her eyes with a sigh and settled back onto the bed. "Bring that chair over here, Gabrielle, and sit down."

The young woman did as she'd been bidden. "Have you need of me for something?" She asked tentatively.

"We never finished our conversation."

"Conqueror?" Gabrielle's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You were telling me about my failings as a leader. With some enjoyment, if I recall correctly, " Xena added. "Go on, then. I know you can't possibly have exhausted your criticisms yet, so why don't you pick up where you left off? I haven't got anything better to do than listen to your chatter, unfortunately."

"Well… alright." Gabrielle smiled softly, containing her glee. She felt like she was finally making progress with this seemingly unmovable woman. She resumed the argument she'd been outlining before the poisoning had occurred. The Conqueror's eyes remained closed, and once or twice Gabrielle called out to her gently, wondering if she'd fallen asleep.

"Keep going, Gabrielle," Xena would murmur. So Gabrielle talked, and the morning passed by more swiftly than any she'd experienced yet in the keep.

- 8 -

That evening, Gabrielle volunteered to bring the prisoner's meal down to the basement. Eris seemed surprised at the offer, but didn't question it, undoubtedly grateful that the burden was out of her hands. The guard seemed no more reluctant to admit Gabrielle than last time, and she slipped into the room to find Kyros at his desk.

For a long moment he remained slumped over his work, perhaps expecting the visitor to leave immediately after delivering his food. Respecting his silence, Gabrielle observed the practiced strokes of his quill and the little frown of concentration set upon his face. Slowly, he set the pen down and turned toward her. His eyes brightened when they took in her appearance, though he did not smile, and his lips retained their thin line of cultivated indifference.

"I didn't think you'd be back," he said.

Gabrielle came forward, smiling softly. "I told you I would," she reminded him.

"You said you'd visit yesterday, but you didn't. I should have known better than to expect it." Gabrielle's smile fell, and the bitterness in the boy's voice pained her. It was clear that Kyros knew a great deal of disappointment and neglect. He spoke like one who had been tempted by hope, only to have it denied him.

"I'm sorry. I did mean to come, but other things prevented it, things beyond my control. I am here now. I always keep my promises, when I'm able."

He stared at her for a moment, searching her eyes as if hunting for concealed deception. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied and willing to forgive. "What were you doing, then?"

"I was… doing errands, for the Conqueror," Gabrielle replied, feeling uneasy. In this instance, it was impossible and forbidden to tell him the truth.

"Oh," Kyros said dully, leaning back in his chair. "Well, I'm glad you've come. It's always quiet down here, and the guard never talks to me. Sometimes I want to throw things, and kick and shout, just to make noise. They'd think I'd gone mad. But I'm not mad," he added defensively, "and I don't care what they think of me, anyway."

"You're not mad," Gabrielle agreed soothingly. "You're lonely, that's all. Anyone would be. I'd like to know why you're down here, Kyros."

"Why?" He glanced up at her, his suspicion renewed. "I don't see why you'd care."

"You promised to tell me if I came back," she reminded him. "I kept my word, and now you have to keep yours."

After a little more haggling, the boy agreed. Lacking another chair, they settled upon the warm rug next to the fireplace. Gabrielle coaxed answers from Kyros between bites of his supper, and slowly she began to understand his captivity.

"It's the Conqueror," he told her. "When she overthrew King Tiberius, she ordered that I be hidden, and had me locked away down here. I don't even think she told her captains who I am—they never ask questions, anyway. They just do what she says. She didn't want anyone to know about me."

"But why?" Gabrielle asked, confused. She couldn't fathom why a mere boy would be of such importance to Xena.

He shrugged, pausing to chew the bit of meat he'd just bitten off. "She thinks I'm a threat to her, I guess. Not to her personally, of course, but to her throne. Tiberius was my sire."

"You're the King's heir?" Gabrielle resisted the urge to raise her voice, remembering the guard outside.

"His bastard," Kyros sneered. "He sired me, but he was never my father. He never saw me as anything more than a mistake, and he treated me just the same. What the Conqueror has done to me is nothing new—I've spent my whole life living as a ghost. No one's supposed to know about me."

"So she's afraid of you," Gabrielle said slowly. She understood now the need for secrecy, the need to keep this boy under careful guard. Legitimate or not, he had the King's blood. As the only survivor of the royal lineage, Kyros was the legal inheritor of the throne. If the masses found him out, they could start a movement to instate him on the throne. The Conqueror would be forced to either abdicate, or order her troops to march on the very citizens they claimed to protect. It was a precarious situation, best avoided by keeping Kyros in isolation.

"How old are you, Kyros?" Gabrielle asked softly.

"Thirteen summers."

"Thirteen," she repeated. So young. "And if you were free, what would you be doing, right now?"

"I don't know." He looked startled by the question. "I've never thought about it before. I've never been allowed to choose."

"Would you seek your father's crown?"

"I told you, he's not my father!" He stood up angrily, his cheeks flushed and his patience waning. "What's the point in talking about it? It doesn't matter what I want. It doesn't matter whether it's the King, the old scribe, or the Conqueror; I do what they tell me, or I get punished. That's it."

"It matters, Kyros. At least, it should. I want to help you, and if I'm going to do that, I need you to talk to me." The words were out of her mouth before she could even consider them, and there could be no taking them back. The boy opened his mouth, and then closed it, looking at her with a new light his eyes. "If I could get you out of here," Gabrielle began quietly, "Is there anywhere you could hide? Anyone you know, beyond the keep?"

Kyros shook his head. "When I was younger, I used to be allowed out. I'd go to the markets, and I had friends. But then it wasn't permitted anymore. They said it wasn't seemly for a boy of my birth to be playing with street urchins, but I think they just wanted to keep me here, so that no one would know about me. I had a tutor, and sometimes the stable master would let me help him tend the horses, but I don't know where he is now. When the King was killed, he and the tutor disappeared. Maybe they were killed too."

"We'll think of something."

"Gabrielle?" The boy's voice was newly tentative, and not a trace of his former hostility remained. He sounded for the first time like the child that he was.

"Yes?"

"Why are you helping me? I mean, I… I'm grateful. I like it when you visit. No one's ever bothered to talk to me like this before, ask me questions. Why now?"

"Because I know what freedom is," Gabrielle replied softly. "And so should you." Stiff from sitting so long, she rose to her feet gingerly. "I have to go now."

"When will you come back?" She could hear the pleading in his tone, and smiled.

"As soon as I can," she assured him. She rapped on the door, and the guard opened it. As the heavy wood was pulled closed once more, Gabrielle caught a last glimpse of Kyros, his head bowed, and the tangled mop of hair obscuring his eyes. Then the guard gave her a meaningful look, and she departed reluctantly.

On her way back to the slave's quarters, Perdicus found Gabrielle again at last. He drew her into a store cupboard so that they could speak openly without fear of being overheard. They embraced as soon as they were sealed within, a wordless gesture of relief and friendship.

"I have a plan," Perdicus informed her, barely able to keep the excitement from his voice. "A good one, I hope. Simple enough, but it will require a few preparations."

Gabrielle nodded, finding it difficult to match her friend's enthusiasm. Her mind was still on the boy she'd left in the dungeon, and her heart found it difficult to contemplate freedom when other such prisoners were denied it. He was only a child, after all, and no child should grow up in such extreme isolation.

"Gabrielle?" Perdicus frowned, searching her eyes.

"Hm? I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Are you alright? Did something happen?" His expression tightened. "I saw you leave the Conqueror's chambers earlier. Did she… did she hurt you, or…?"

"No," Gabrielle said hastily, offering him a reassuring smile. "No, I'm fine. Listen, Perdicus. I… I'm not ready to leave yet."

"Not ready? I don't understand. I've got it all worked out, I-"

"There's something I have to do first," she interrupted gently. "For… for a friend. I can't explain it to you, not yet. No one can know about it. I just need you to trust me." She looked up at her friend, begging him with her eyes to refrain from asking questions. It wasn't that she didn't trust Perdicus, but she needed to keep things neatly in hand while she figured out how to act.

After a long moment, Perdicus nodded, though his jaw was clenched and his expression frustrated. As she turned to go, he pleaded with her softly. "Please don't shut me out."

"I'm not," she assured him, a pang of guilt striking deep within her chest. "I'll explain everything to you, when I've got it figured out myself." He nodded reluctantly, and Gabrielle slipped back through the door, leaving her friend alone in the storeroom.