Chapter Seven

She walked towards Ares temple. She saw a medium sized figure go inside, but she heard a scream.Curiously she followed the sound and entered the house. A baby cried in a crib, and a man beat his wife before turning back to the six year old girl whose clothes were ripped.

"Please stop him. He's going to rape and scrafice her to Ares." cried the woman. Xena kicked his ass. She dragged him to the woods. She sodomized him, and beat him until he barely had enough air to beg for mercy.

"Stop, have mercy, I'll never lay a hand on my daughter again." He cried. Tears and blood ran down his face.

"That's right you won't." Xena said. She took him to Ares temple and sacrificed him by killing him. She had no mercy for men who raped children. His blood ran down the black marble like a waterfall. The mysterious figure watched her from a far.

"I know your there." Xena said."Show yourself." The figure stepped out of the shadows. Xena turned blood all over her. The figure was a boy of ten.

"Who are you?" Xena asked.

"The prophet Solan." said Solan.

"Prophet." Xena said."I don't believe in prophets."

"Well you'd be a fool not to believe in me." Solan said.

"I'm no fool, but I've never heard of one thing that came true, because of a prophecy."

"Well I prophecized you'd have a child. When I lived in Rome a year ago when I was nine. Caesar didn't believe, but now that word spreads of your child well now he'll know. But you see I also prophecized that he would use me for evil, I couldn't stay. So I ran away in search of a place to hide. My Uncle died along the way. So it was than I prophecized that you would adopt five children. As this was my second prophecy of you. I became curious and seeked you out. In my next vision I saw you sacrificing a man in the temple of Ares. And so once I had found you I decided to meet you at the very moment I saw you in my vision."

"Uhuh, and why would I adopt five children?" Xena asked.

"To train of course. I've had small visions, and they show me that you will be a lot more successful training warriors at a young age. Women are better suited to guard your kingdom along with the men."

"And who are they, the children that is." Xena said.

"Those girls I saw you dragging into the village. Than there were two more. I no not where they come from. And the fifth one is me. You see I am very useful to you." Solan said.

"I don't believe you." Xena said.

"Well you shall be a believer when you see that the mother has killed herself." Solan said. He pulled back his hood to reveal a beautiful face that resembled hers. She looked startled, but said nothing of how his blue eyes were dead on her own.

"We shall see than." Xena said. She turned and pulled her knife out of the man's chest. She wiped it on his clothes before shealthing it and leading Solan to the woman's home. There she had hung herself from the rafters. The baby cried as it hung to close to the fire. The little girl was being strangled slower than her mother had,because of her weight. She cut them down quickly. The family was absolutely insane. She took them back to the assembly who had not dared to leave.

"You two go cut their mother down." Xena said."She hung herself." Two men went to do what she said. Everyone was silent as they looked at the new figure who they had not seen before. They assumed it was her son seeing as they had the same eyes. He held the babe close and the six year old frightened out of her wits hugged her little sister. Mia looked pathetic and sad. Scared too, because of the blood.

"Who knew about this?" Xena asked."You all must have known, because you were all reluctant to tell me of what was going on."

"It was the will of the gods that they should die." The elder said.

"Well it'll be my will that you die if I don't start getting to the truth. Your under my control now." Xena said."Now why would they sell Sophia, and kill the other two. Also why was the father beating the mother and about to rape his six year old daughter?" Xena was angry.

"Ma'am they were insane. They hit rock bottom only yesterday when a fire took out all of their crops. They finally managed to get good crops when the fire came. They were dreadfully poor. And winters suppose to be comin' on strong this year." said a woman."They sold Sophia for two dinars. It's all your warrior would give them. That's not enough to feed and clothe the family through the winter. Especially when they can't replant anything so late in the season."

"That doesn't explain why he was going to rape and sacrifice his daughter." Xena said.

"He was sacrificing her to Ares so that he may turn him into a warrior in one night so he'd be good enough to join your army." said a man who was obviously one of those men who knew everyone's business.

"The mother she's purely insane always talkin' to herself. She swore to him if he ever layed a hand on her and the girls again she'd kill herself and the children. Perhaps she wasn't expectin' you to kill him." said the elder."We're well aware of what goes on in that house."

"Hmmm...and you didn't think to remove the children?" Xena asked. They shook their heads no.

"We don't even have an orphanage." The woman said.

"Well start one, and start sending search parties out for your kids. I'm tired of one wandering into the camp. They could be hurt. I'm so tired of seeing kids that could have a place to stay with no place to stay." Xena said."And if a child is in danger you had better get them out of it. Will of the gods. If it was the will of the gods they'd kill them, themselves." She walked out. Than turned back around.

"What are you all standing there for get movin'!" Xena yelled. The children followed her not knowing where else to go.