The Full Extent
I don't own Xena
After a few moments of holding the bard tightly, Xena helped her to her feet so they could leave this place. Gabrielle then stated, "We can't leave yet."
Xena shot the bard a questioning look as she could tell that this mattered very deeply to her, "What is it Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle replied with surprise, "You haven't seen the pit?"
Xena has smelled the death in the air but she had not yet located the source as she replied, "No I haven't."
Gabrielle fought back the tears as she replied, "Oh Xena, it's awful. But we can't leave them like that." The warrior nodded as she knew the dead Amazons needed all proper funerals.
Gabrielle led the way with Xena just behind her, close enough to touch her. The smell became strong and wretched as Xena closed in on a wagon, which still had the Roman soldiers tied to it. They had woken up. Xena was dreading what she knew she was about to see.
Xena was disgusted as she saw the pit filled with lifeless dead naked female corpses. Some rotted, some not yet, and some working their way to becoming rotted. Xena looked away from the pit, only to see the same six year old you girl that Gabrielle had viewed earlier; Xena quickly came to the same conclusion, that the child was raped and beaten to death.
This was all Xena could take as she took a soldier cutting him loose from his bonds with her sword. She grabbed the soldier and forced his eyes on the little girl. Xena said in a chilling tone into the ear of the Roman soldier, "You see that? Proud of your handiwork aren't ya? You see what you did to that girl!"
The soldier replied desperately trying to explain himself, "I didn't rape her."
Xena said coldly, "Oh, so which one did you rape?" Xena forcibly turned the man's body around, facing the pit filled with death. Xena then asked, "Which one did you do this too! Talk you bastard!" Gabrielle tugged on Xena to get her attention.
The soldier started blubbering, "I'm sorry, please don't kill me!"
Xena stated in a low cold growl as her mouth was inches from the man's ear, "I should. Then I should throw you into the pit with them. But that would dishonor them to have you lay where they lie. Here is what you and the other three men are going to do if you all survive my wrath. You are going to pull each of these women out of the pit and line them up in a row. You and your men will gather all the wood and set up funeral pyres for them. You will then lay the bodies carefully on each stack of wood.
I don't want you stacking too high cause this is going to take a lot of wood, so knee high will do. Once that is done you shall wait until I allow you to leave. If you do all these tasks exactly as I have ordered then you won't find your bodies in the pit where the women have laid. If any! If any of you try to escape I will kill you all! No mercy for the unmerciful! Do you understand me?"
Xena threw the man to his face on the ground, pulling out the sword and holding the tip to the back of his neck as she demanded, "Answer my question!"
The soldier replied in fear of the dark haired woman who held his life in her hands, "I will! I swear I'll do as you say!"
Xena then bent down and pulled up his head saying, "Tell the others, than get to work, dog!" Xena released the man's skull as she stood up. Gabrielle could only stare wordlessly at the display she had just witnessed.
Gabrielle watched for hours as Xena strode around the four Roman soldiers with her sword out, ready to run through any who tested her patience. Gabrielle knew what Xena was doing, aside from saving themselves a lot of difficult work. She was making these four understand what it is they have done, punishing them for their crime.
Four hours passed as the bodies were now lined up outside the pit. Gabrielle watched as one by one knee high piles of wood were neatly stacked. The Romans lacking the proper tools pulled wood from anywhere they could find it.
Xena turned her head away from the Romans for a moment to be greeted with the sight of Marga slowly riding Argo. Gabrielle nodded at Xena as if to say, "I've got this. Continue with what you are doing."
Gabrielle turned to what was already becoming a very distraught Marga as she leapt from Argo and began to run towards the corpses. Gabrielle ran and intercepted her as the young girl was breaking down in tears. Gabrielle took her into her own arms, embracing the woman as she cried, "My family. They killed my family!"
Gabrielle replied while holding the woman close, "I know," It wasn't long before Marga noticed that one of the dead was a six year old dark haired child.
Marga replied overwhelmed with further grief, "Varia."
Gabrielle said fighting back tears, "I had hoped that it wasn't her."
Xena watched closely as Gabrielle comforted the weeping dark skinned woman. Then Xena went back to job making the Romans finish their work.
After a few hours it was dark, but the last of the funeral pyres were finally set up. Xena then said to the Romans who were now kneeling before her, "OK, as the fires burn you are now to beg for their forgiveness. Beg the women you killed for their forgiveness."
Marga hearing what Xena said shouted, "Yes you bastards! Beg them! Beg you bastards!" Gabrielle took ahold of Marga as she had begun to charge at the Roman soldiers.
Gabrielle then said staring into her eyes, "Let Xena deal with them." Marga though extremely angry submitted to Gabrielle's will.
Finally after a moment or so, Xena, Gabrielle and Margo began to light the funeral fires as the Roman soldiers began to beg for mercy and forgiveness from the Amazons as they burned.
Xena then said to the soldiers, "After Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazons says a few words you may leave with your pathetic lives."
Gabrielle stood in front of them looking down on them with disgust. The Romans turned their eyes at Gabrielle to listen to her. She smacked one with her staff causing his eye to bleed as she said, "You're not worthy to cast your eyes on me you filth. Stare at the Ground!"
The four soldiers stared at the ground as Gabrielle continued, "If you gutless murdering bastards ever set foot on Amazon lands again, you will be executed in full sight of the tribe. Do you understand me! Speak!"
The soldiers replied in fear, "Yes."
Gabrielle turned her eyes to Xena as she said, "Xena, we need to mark these men."
Xena's eyes shot towards Gabrielle with a bit of surprise, she had not expected this from her, but she couldn't help but agree with Gabrielle's logic, a mark, to ensure that any Amazon that finds them, would then kill them.
The soldiers waited as Xena heated up sword in one of the funeral fires, even as the smoke of the burning flesh tried to overpower her. After a few minutes Xena ordered the four soldiers to lay on their back, they reluctantly agreed.
Then one by one as the soldiers screamed out in agony, the sword touched their foreheads swearing the flesh, Gabrielle could not watch, even men such as these, seeing that sight was too much for her. Xena then said, "Ok Gabrielle, it's done."
Gabrielle then said, "You will leave now! Go! I won't have you near these women anymore!" The soldiers started to get up grabbing their swords as Xena pulled hers,
She said, "The swords stay. You will leave unarmed."
One of the soldiers asked, "but what if we are attacked by Pompey's men, or anyone else?"
Gabrielle replied with cruel grin, unusual for her, "Then you will be as defenseless as those women and justice will be served."
Xena turned around and faced the burning bodies. Xena started singing her song that she always sung to honor the dead as they burned. Marga collapsed to the ground in tears as Gabrielle held her close. Xena fought back some tears of her own as she continued to sing. Then finally she stopped and just looked on at the tragedy that had become of the Thracian Amazons.
Gabrielle's thought drifted for a split second to the dagger that was now safely tucked away in her boot, the dagger that belonged to Brutus, and the dagger she used to kill him, she was intent to hold onto the dagger, she wouldn't be defenseless.
AN: One chapter remains
