Chapter 8

Alana waited impatiently for Gabrielle to arrive, pacing back and forth and biting her nails. Finally she heard hooves thundering down the road in her direction. Her breath caught as she saw an army of horses approaching, riders wearing frightening feathered masks. Gabrielle led the charge of Amazons, that must be numbering near a hundred. Her heart nearly leapt from her throat at the impressive sight. It was no wonder Amazons had a reputation as they did. Apparently news of their tiny numbers was exaggerated. As the horses slowed to a stop in front of her, Alana found herself looking from Amazon to Amazon, but with those masks she couldn't see anyone's faces.
Gabrielle pulled up Argo right in front of Alana, with Clauda on one side and Varia on the other. "Alana. What did you find out?" She asked as she dropped down off the war horse.
Alana hesitated as the two Amazons on either side of Gabrielle lifted their masks. Neither of them were her, but she felt her heart beat faster as the two fierce women stared down at her. Both women appeared very strong, and Alana saw the taller one look her up and down. Alana swallowed hard. "They took her to a camp about a half candlemark on horseback down the road. I saw about fifty men. Didn't look very organized."
"Darnon," Clauda stated. When both women turned at her statement she continued. "He has been trying to take some of our land, claiming he had rights to it. We've given him warning but he keeps threatening. He's been camped at the border trying to get the courage up to attack. We've been keeping an eye on him but he hasn't seemed like much of a threat."
Gabrielle shook her head in confusion. "Why does he think he can lay claim to Amazon land? And what could he possibly want with Xena?"
Clauda looked at Varia and then down at Gabrielle. "Darnon is Cyane's son."
Gabrielle's eyes grew wide. "Original Cyane, as in Queen of the Northern Amazons, Cyane?"
Alana didn't know what this meant. "I don't get it."
Varia held a fierce look on her face and revealed why she really didn't like Xena much at the beginning. "Xena killed her. Xena killed Darnon's mother, Queen of the Amazons."

Suddenly Xena realized why he looked so familiar. He had his mother's eyes. She also realized the gravity of the situation she was in. She thought back to how she had befriended Cyane, only to allow Alti to seduce Xena into betraying her. It was a mistake Xena took years to regret, a mistake she thought she had made up for when she helped Cyane and her people cross over into the land of the dead. Now it seemed it was a mistake she could never outrun.
"I made peace with your mother a long time ago, Darnon," Xena tried to explain only to get back handed again.
"Don't patronize me. How would you make peace with someone who's friendship you betrayed with murder? You expect me to believe that somehow she came to you on a dream and forgave you?"
Xena spat out blood and took a deep breath. "It's difficult to explain."
"Try me," Darnon spewed.
Xena took a deep breath. "Some time ago I traveled to the Amazon spirit world looking for a friend. What I found was your mother and many of her tribe unable to cross over into the land of the dead. An evil shamaness had placed a curse, keeping them in a wasteland between worlds. I...corrected the situation."
Darnon tipped his head back and laughed spitefully. "Do you really expect me to believe that rubbish?"
Xena pulled uncomfortably at her restraints. "No, I don't. But it is the truth."
Darnon crouched in front of Xena, picking up her chin with the blade of a sharp dagger. "You're pathetic. Even if it was true, it wouldn't change things. You took my mother from me. She was all I had. They cast me out of the village, the only home I knew. I grew up a pauper, working for a blacksmith in some run down village. All the while dreaming of this very moment, where I could avenge the death of the only person who ever meant something to me. I must say, it was quite a surprise hearing you were here after all this time. I had only intended on taking back a piece of what is rightfully mine, even if I had to destroy those annoying Amazons. But now, I'll not only claim my birthright, I will repay a debt long overdue."

"The girl's right. There aren't many of them and they are just a rabble of mercenaries and thieves. It shouldn't take much to get her out of there. It's time to get this annoyance out of our hair anyway," Clauda told Gabrielle.
"If she's still alive. If he's Cyane's son there's no doubt he wants to punish Xena for her death. We have to get to her before its too late," Gabrielle was starting to lose hope.
"Fifty untrained soldiers against a hundred Amazons? I say we ride in there and destroy everything in sight," Varia piped in.
Gabrielle couldn't help but grow bitter at Varia's words, remembering the woman's betrayal during the battle of Helicon. She also remembered how she had stripped Varia of queenhood permanently and given it to Clauda before she left. "We can't risk Xena's life by just charging in there. He could kill her before we had a chance to get to her."
Varia clenched her jaw at Gabrielle's tone, a stinging reminder of a low point in Varia's life.
Clauda nodded. "Gabrielle's right. We leave the horses here and do what we do best. They won't know what hit them."