Again thank you so much for the messages, you're great !

Alexa was still excited by the Conqueror's revelation about the identity of Gabrielle, she could not believe she had met the Amazon Queen, the thought bringing a smile at the girl's lips. She was thrilled yes, she was glad to be riding with everyone today but she was beginning to feel the roughness of the trip. Her legs were numb, the rest of her body was aching.

Since their departure from Amphipolis hours ago they had stopped once. The Conqueror warned them they won't be stopping until lunch now, something which could not come quickly enough for Alexa since she really needed to stretch.

She calculated that they must have left Amphipolis six candlemarks ago. Of course Alexa was used to horseback riding but she never travelled this long on a horse before. At least not without several breaks. She didn't complain, she just told herself that she needed to suck it up and keep going. She was riding along with the Conqueror and the Amazon Queen after all and she was certainly not going to be the killjoy of this party.

Noon passed and they were still riding. Alexa was hungry and tired, she was feeling extremely unconfortable now and could not keep from squirming on her saddle. On top of that, it was starting to get hot out there. She looked around her, wanting to see if she was the only one annoyed by the fact that they were not stopping as planned. To her disappointment she was.

Looking behind her, a sight baffled her. The Amazon Queen was in deep conversations with none other than Draco. And she looked like she was having a good time, she was laughing even !

Most of the Royal Guards had been nice to her, as nice as soldiers can be while on duty anyway. Some of them were ignoring her but Draco had been less than civil since their altercation. She thought, naively, that knowing who she really was would change his attitude toward her but she had to come to the conclusion that the man absolutely didn't care. Queen Gabrielle, on the other hand, was the center of his attention. Alexa was not an expert on attraction but she had two eyes and not much to do at the moment so she observed and realized that Draco, the man who tried to beat the crap out of her, had without a doubt a crush on the Amazon Queen. She didn't know much about Queen Gabrielle but she had a hard time believing a Queen would be attracted to a man like Draco. The soldier was crude and for Alexa he was the spitting image of what she thought soldiers were. Alexa was trying to picture the two together when the Conqueror finally called for a break.

The girl dismounted with precaution, she didn't trust her legs at the moment and didn't want to fall from her horse in front of everyone. Once sure that her legs would support her she walked toward a nearby clearing and laid down unceremoniously. She never would have thought that riding a horse could be so tiring, the animal was doing all the work after all. The trip had taken a toll on her, she felt herself fall asleep listening to the voices not far from her.

"Princess."

Alexa opened her eyes at the voice. One of the Royal Guard was kneeling at her side.

"You will feel better with this in your stomach." He said handing her a plate.

Alexa accepted the offered plate a little embarrassed by the attention. "You didn't have to" she said while coming to a sitting position.

The man smiled at the blush he could see on the girl's face. "Our Lord Conqueror put me at your service Princess, I am just fulfilling my duty."

Alexa frowned at this. "Oh I didn't know that" she would have liked to be informed. "I'm sorry, you must have worked hard to be a part of the Royal Guard. All that to end up with me."

It was the guard's turn to frown. "The protection of the Empire's Princess is not a drawback. I am honored to have the trust of the Lord Conqueror." He exclaimed in a firm tone. Alexa glanced at him wanting to see if she had managed to hurt the man but he was smiling at her and she smiled in return.

"What does your duty entails exactly ?" She asked curious.

"Mainly, keeping you safe Princess. I will be at your side every time you decide to leave the castle or when our Lord Conqueror feel my presence necessary."

"Every time ?"

He perceived her worry. He understood the fear and uneasiness, who would want a second shadow. "Do not worry Your Grace, the Royal Guard prime quality is discretion. You won't know i'm here."

Alexa was not convinced but it's not like she could refuse his presence. "I don't even know your name."

"My name is Sefu, Princess."

"Where are you from ?"

"I am from Egypt."

"You must miss your land."

He shook his head, "Egypt took too much from me. Greece has been my home for more seasons than I stayed in Egypt. I am greek in my heart Princess."

Alexa felt there was more to his story but didn't want to pry. They both ate together in silence. Alexa was watching the Amazon Queen out of the corner of her eye, she was talking with the Conqueror's men. Seeing the Royal Guards talk freely to the Amazon Queen, Alexa understood the woman was not a stranger to those men. The Conqueror didn't partake in the conversations, actually Alexa realized the two women had not addressed each other since they left Amphipolis. The ruler was not even among them during lunch. Her thoughts were disturbed by the sudden move of her personal guard who was standing before her.

"My Liege." He saluted.

Alexa turned around surprised to see the Conqueror standing behind her. She didn't even feel her presence. The girl was staring at the ruler trying to understand how the woman managed to creep up behind her without her knowing. Next to her, Sefu looked awkwardly between the two. He could see the Conqueror was waiting for the girl to react to her presence. The more the teen remained unmoving, the more Sefu became anxious for the Princess well-being. To the relief of the man, the girl finally woke up from her daydream, stood up and bowed before the ruler.

"I see you two made acquaintance." The ruler commented emotionless.

Sefu nodded at his Lord while Alexa remained speechless, a fact not lost on the Conqueror. She dismissed her guard and turned toward Alexa.

"How are you feeling ?"

"I'm okay"

The Conqueror shot her a look, doubtful at the statement.

Alexa caved under the scrutiny of the woman. "It's the first time I ride for so much candlemarks." Xena suspected that much. "I'll get used to it … eventually."

Not wanting to crush her mood, The Conqueror kept for herself the fact that what she was feeling right now would be nothing compared to the soreness she will feel tomorrow. Instead, she handed her a waterskin.

"The sun will shine brightly for the rest of the day. The heat will not make the trip any easier but if you stay hydrated you should be allright."

Alexa thanked her, happy at the ruler's consideration.


Like the Conqueror had told her, the afternoon was barely bearable. Her companions didn't seem affected by the heat which pushed her again to hide her discomfort. Unfortunately for her, Sefu was not easily duped.

"Do you want me to ask for a break Princess ?"

"No, i'm okay." She smiled gratefully in his direction.

The man nodded and retreated back. The Amazon Queen saw the exchange and was not as easily convinced as the guard. She galloped toward the front of the group stopping next to the Conqueror.

"We should stop to take shelter from the sun for a while and freshen up." Advised the Queen.

"If we stop every two candlemarks we will need a week to make it up to Corinth." Answered the Conqueror indifferent.

"Not everyone is used to these conditions Xena." Gabrielle said looking pointedly at the woman.

The Conqueror knew the Amazon was not talking about herself. As much as she would have liked to disagree, the Queen was right. They were on a schedule though and the ruler would feel way more relaxed if they could stick to it. Next to her, she heard Patrocle sigh, the man didn't like it either. Xena signaled for everyone to take a break.

The Queen, satisfied, went back at the rear of the group. She heard Draco curse beside her, he was looking at Alexa and he looked exasperated.

"You seem to have forgotten what it is like for common people to travel in such weather" commented the Queen.

"Maybe Xena should have waited 'til winter to travel. I'm starting to regret sticking with her for this trip. If I had known it was to babysit I would have stayed in Corinth." Draco glanced at the Amazon, a question nagging at him since he heard the woman was going to travel with them to the capital. "I know why i'm here but you, you could have avoided all this" he said pointing in the direction of Alexa.

Gabrielle watched the girl. Even with her attempts to hide it, the Queen could see the teen was having a hard time. "You know me, I do like my adventures" she answered lightly. Draco was certainly not the man she will trust with the real reasons of her presence here.

"Adventures surrounded by Amazons I could see the appeal" he said with a lecherous smile, "but you seem to have gotten rid of your attractive shadows, something I, for one, am deeply sadden about."

The Queen rolled her eyes, "I just didn't want them to be confronted to your kind Draco, that's all. The Gods know no one deserve that." She heard some guards laugh at her jibe, Draco grunted at the display and left the Queen's side.


The night could not come quickly enough for Alexa. She felt anxious though, it was her first time in the wilderness. Misha was not an outdoor kind of person, they never went camping, The idea of sleeping outside surrounded by strangers was difficult to deal with for the girl. Though, she doubted falling asleep tonight would be a problem.

To Alexa's relief, the sun finally decided it was time for them to get some rest. The group stopped before the night took its place. A camp was quickly built. Alexa honestly thought Greece's ruler would travel more fancily but again, she reasoned, she didn't really know the woman.

Alexa was mesmerized by the organization. She wanted to help but Sefu told her it was no use and that she should rest instead so she did just that. She turned her attention to a group of men building a fire, logs were organized around them. The Conqueror was sat on one tending to her sword while the Amazon Queen was sat on the opposite side reading. Alexa took a deep breath and walked toward them.

The Conqueror saw Alexa approach. The girl seemed tentative at first but eventually she made the last steps toward them and sat without a word.

Once the fire started, the men left the three women alone to go back to their duties. Not a word was uttered for long minutes until a loud sound erupted from Alexa's belly. Two set of eyes looked in the direction of the mortified girl.

"Sorry. I'm … hungry."

The Amazon Queen could not suppress a chuckle. "Don't be embarrassed, it's a miracle mine managed to stay quiet for so long."

Alexa was relieved to hear that, even more relieved when the Queen gave her one of her scroll, "It will keep your mind busy until diner is served" the Amazon told her.

The Conqueror shook her head slightly at the exchange before going back to her task. Silence wrapped them again.

Alexa glanced at the two women, sure now that they were deliberately ignoring each other. The Princess tried to remember what she knew about the Amazons. A community of warrior women led by a Queen where men were not allowed, that was about it. The Amazons were known to be secretive, most of the stories about them were more legends than facts. No one exactly knew where they lived. They had their own land, that Alexa was sure of. She also knew Amazons were Greece's allies, they fought with the Conqueror at some point so if they are allies why were they acting like that ?

Alexa glanced again at the women, thinking that maybe she should be the one to break the ice. Her resolve was cut short by the announce of diner, though. The Queen immediately perked up at the news. Alexa was dumbfounded by the sight, the Amazon looked almost childish, she was even more surprised to see the Conqueror smile a knowing smile at the Queen's reaction.


Diner went by quickly, everyone was tired by this first journey of travel. The guards who could, went to bed. Soon Alexa was only surrounded by Draco, Patrocle, Sefu, Queen Gabrielle and the Conqueror.

Draco was sharing a story of the past where she learned that in those days the Conqueror and Queen Gabrielle were fighting side by side.

"So here we are, the five of us, in this small town trying to remain unindentified when this warlord Damon show up with a bunch of men to demand the villagers to give them all their belongings. The man thought his newfound celebrity would allow him to just take what he wanted without lifting a finger." Related Draco.

Alexa was listening with rapt attention, eager to know more about their adventures. "What did you do ?"

"Queen Gabrielle here, tried to talk him out of it, he didn't bite and instead tried to recruit her. If I remember correctly he wanted you to become his new wife." He said snickering asking for the Queen's confirmation.

The Amazon turned her attention toward Alexa. "To his defense he acted like a gentleman, he knew how to woe a woman. Of course when I told him I was not interested he went back to his old self and attacked me. Warlord ..." She said rolling her eyes.

"Next thing we know, the guy is running away half naked from his camp crying like a baby. I don't know who were the most surprised, his men or us." Draco finished laughing.

"What did you do for him to react like that ?" Alexa asked the Queen.

Draco didn't let the Amazon time to answer, "Wasn't Queen Gabrielle doing, our Lord Conqueror here was the one who scarred him for life. What was the bastard thinking seriously ..." Before Draco could go on the Conqueror spoke up.

"It's late and we have a long day tomorrow" she firmly said.

The men took this at their cue to leave. Alexa stood up but didn't move on. She had no idea where she was supposed to sleep, Xena saw the hesitation.

"Sefu will show you around." Alexa nodded while Sefu bowed. They both said their goodnight before leaving the two rulers alone.

Gabrielle watched the girl and her guard walk away talking animatedly. "They seem to get along."

"A good thing considering the time they will pass together."

"I heard Alexa ask Sefu if Draco and I were together."

The Conqueror scoffed at the comment. The preferences of the Amazon Queen were no secret. Rumors were spread about the numbers of the Queen's conquests. The Conqueror knew those rumors were exagerated. Gabrielle always had many suitors though, even among her own men. She always knew Draco had a soft spot for the Amazon Queen but she also knew that Tartarus will freeze before the Amazon Queen accept to share her bed with a man.

The Conqueror had always been aware of the effect the Queen could have on people. When they became friends, Xena tried to convince the Queen to disclose her past relationships, something Gabrielle always kept to herself. On the other hand, the appetite of the Destroyer of Nations was no secret in Greece, something Gabrielle never commented on. Only when they became more than friends Xena got privy of part of the Queen's love life mostly because when they first shared a bed together the warrior discovered that the younger woman was far from a novice in the art of lovemaking. Xena was no novice either but she had to admit to herself that this petite woman probably was the best partner she had shared a night with. It was no surprise then that from that moment on she refused to spend even a single night alone.

"I will talk to her." The Conqueror didn't know what she will tell the girl, she certainly didn't want to disclose her past with the Amazon Queen but she also didn't want the teen to keep chatter about the life of the woman.

"I wasn't saying that as a reproach. It just got me thinking. I remember this time with Damon you know, defending the innocent, it was nice." The Amazon looked expectantly at her companion expecting a reaction, a comment, anything. When nothing came, exasperation filled the Queen, "You really want us to just avoid each other until we reach Corinth ? I saw the way Alexa looked at us, she knows something is odd."

"So what ?"

"So if you want to avoid unnecessary question, we could at least pretend to be civil with each other."

The look the Queen saw in the Conqueror's eyes startled her.

"Maybe I was not clear enough the last time we talked." Xena started, contempt lacing her words. "The night you told me you were leaving you put a final point to whatever relationship we had. You walking around like you do, pretending to be offended or even surprised by my attitude toward you, that makes me sick."

Gabrielle could see the ferocity in the warrior's eyes. She didn't look away, she could see the tension in the Conqueror's body, she could even feel it. But again she stood her ground. If she was not the one to push the issue, never will they broach the subject again, an idea unbearable for the younger woman.

"You never gave a second thought to our relationship. I became a sure thing for you, you were so certain that I will never leave your side. Naively I thought that with Greece finally united you will be satisfied but you went after Chin and Egypt and I knew then that you would never be satiated, that whatever the cost you would go after every pieces of land still free from Roman's power."

The Conqueror was doing everything in her power to not pounce on the woman. She knew the power of Gabrielle's words, she had seen many cower after a simple conversation with the Amazon, herself included. She should shut her up, she should just make her stop ! Instead she stood up and left the camp, signaling the guards to stay where they were. She knew Gabrielle was following her. Once far enough from the guards, The Queen grabbed the Conqueror's arm and forced her to face her, an action few would have dared. Gabrielle saw fury in the woman's eyes.

"I knew you Xena." The Queen started firmly. "Our relationship was never your priority. So don't pretend that i'm the only one responsible for our falling apart. If we were being honest with ourselves and with each other we will admit that we both worked hard to destroy what we had. We were not meant to work, I accepted it, why can't you do the same ?"

"Because I loved you !" boomed the ruler. She should have been afraid her outburst would attract the attention of her guards but she didn't care anymore. What satisfied her was seeing the absolute shock on the Queen's face. If the woman wanted the truth she would give her the truth. "I would have done everything for you. I would have given up my life if I had known it would save yours. Everything I did was for you. Letting Cleopatra on the throne, Lao Ma in Chin, the Amazons, all that was for you because you cared and I just wanted you to keep looking at me like you were. Everyone else was seeing a monster but you never did." She took a breath before carrying on more calmly. "You made me fall in love with you. I let you enter my world, my life, my heart. I gave you my trust, something few people can brag about, and look at what you did with it. If you didn't love me anymore you could have said so instead of leaving like you did without giving a damn about what effect your decision would have on others."

"I was scared !" shouted the Amazon Queen, pain obvious in her eyes at the words of the woman in front of her. "I was scared of what I had become during the years at your side. This was not what I had dreamed of Xena. I was a bard for Gods sake ! When I started my training with the Amazons it's not by chance that I chose the staff. I wanted to be capable of defending myself but I didn't want to kill anyone." Tears were falling from her eyes, she let them. "But one day I woke up and I realized that I had lost myself. From this moment on I couldn't look at myself without disgust. I would have loved nothing more than share it with you but you seem to have forgotten what our relationship was like already. The moons before my departure were our worst moons together. I was more angry with you than anything else. Even when we were together we were just pretending. We fought more than we talked. I cried more than I laughed. We did things I never thought us capable of doing to each other. The truth is that I trusted your sword more than I trusted your heart. And I just … couldn't take it anymore."

Gabrielle stopped, trying hard to regain her composure. She wiped her tears and gently went on. "Leaving may have been a selfish move on my part, but at the time I wasn't seeing any other option. After a while I realized what I had done. I tried to reach out to you, when you declined my invitation for the signature of the peace treaty with the Centaurs I realized it was already too late. But I kept thinking that you just needed time. A moon passed and you stopped writing. Then you put Patrocle in charge of dealing with the Amazon Nation and the moons became whole seasons." Thinking back on this period of her life always made her heart clench.

A silence engulfed them both. They stayed there, thinking about each others confessions.

"Is that why you're here ? Because you wish to clear things up between us ?" The ruler could not contain the accusatory tone.

Of course, the Queen didn't let it pass by her and glared at the woman in return. "I'm here because I want my Nation to live in peace."

"But you thought you could use this opportunity to resolve our issues" pushed the Conqueror.

She didn't know why but she needed Gabrielle to admit it, she needed to hear her say it.

The Queen looked wistfully at the warrior wondering for the hundred time how their relationship came to this ugly point. 'Sometimes love is not enough' she remembered reading, something she never believed to be true. Until Xena. This woman showed her what it felt like to be loved, they had been happy together, something they took for granted. Being with her these past days, Gabrielle realized how much she had missed her friend. "It's never too late to admit your mistakes like it's never too late to say sorry."

With these words, a weight was lifted from her shoulders, a door was opened. She could only hope she would not be the only one to cross it.