Title: Someone please believe in me

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters on "Xena Warrior Princess" I'm just borrowing them for the story.

Xena and Annie entered the inn and spotted the Bard seated at a table with their things placed safely by her feet. She had obviously already been up and collected everything they needed from their room for the road.

The Bard put on her angry look (which looked kind of harmless) and rose from her seat as her friends walked over to her.

"Where have you been? I have been waiting here for ever!"

"Sorry we're late but we didn't keep you waiting that long." Annie said and dropped down on a chair by the table.

Gabrielle blushed a little. "Okay so maybe you didn't, I just felt slightly left out since you were gone so long." She sighed and put on a pout. Xena put an arm around her friend's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Hey, little Bard don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to spend together now that we'll soon be on the road. The road to the closest village from here is pretty long so I doubt we'll see many people on the way. So we'll all get to spend some quality time together." She said and yanked Annie up from her seat with her other arm and pulled her close too. Annie who didn't feel very affectionate at the moment in the middle of an inn tried to brake free.

"Can we leave already?" she yelled.

"What's your hurry?" Xena asked a little surprised at the girl's tone.

"I see that guy you threw out the window earlier coming towards us. And he doesn't look very friendly."

Xena spun around and saw the same guy had just entered the inn and was now moving in their direction. "Is this one of those times when you run rather than fight?" Annie asked.

"Uhm…yeah that's right. Let's go." Gabrielle yanked Xena's arm and nodded towards the exit.

The stables:

Xena was busy saddling Argo who was a little moody because of the girl's presence. Xena explained that she would need some time to get used to Annie's company before she would begin to trust her. And then she pointed out how long it had taken Gabrielle to gain the horse's trust.

Annie fully understood that. Horses she liked a lot. When she was ten years old she had spent two weeks at her grandparents' farm where she had learned to ride. Then a month after she had left they had both been in a car accident and died, after that her parents had sold the farm and all the animals on it. That had been the saddest day of her life. Except maybe when her dad left them.

"That was a situation we were better off walking away from." Gabrielle explained to the girl who was standing staring at the tall war horse. "Hello? Are you listening to me? Annie?"

Annie snapped out of it. "What? I'm sorry Gabrielle, did you say something?"

"Never mind. You were a million miles away, what's on your mind?"

"Oh nothing. Come on." She exited the stables with the warrior and the bard behind her. Xena paid for Argo and the hay she had eaten. That horse really did have a healthy appetite.

They walked slowly away from the town they had stayed in and out on the road again. Annie felt so good being there again. Of course the city had been okay too but out here it was different. The silence was great and she couldn't hear anything besides Argo's hooves clattering on the soil and the birds singing in the high trees.

"Hey Annie, you wanna ride?" Xena asked and halted the horse looking down at the girl walking beside the Bard.

Annie gazed up at Xena and then glanced at the horse who she thought was giving her hostile glares. "Maybe I shouldn't. Argo doesn't seem to want me to. I think she'll throw me off if I give her a chance to." She said and continued walking in the same pace.

Xena shook her head. "Not with me on she won't. Come on you can sit here behind me." She patted the seat behind her and moved a little forward to make room for Annie.

"Alright, if you say so." She turned to the Bard. "You sure you don't want to ride instead?"

Gabrielle shook her head and put up her hands in front of her.

"No, no. You go ahead, sweetie. I don't ride unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Necessary?"

"Yeah, you know. A life or death situation. Usually mine."

Annie giggled. Xena reached down her hands and Annie felt herself being lifted up on the horse behind the warrior. She chose a comfortable position and put her hands around Xena's waist so she wouldn't fall off.

"Have you ever been on a horse before?"

"Yeah when I was little…and I loved it, especially when I got to go fast."

"So, do you want to go fast now?" Xena asked. Annie nodded that it was alright with her. "Okay, just hold on tight then." She turned to Gabrielle. "We'll meet you down the road, okay?"

"Sure, but don't expect me to run to catch up with you, it's way to hot for that."

Xena smiled at her friend. "The thought never even crossed my mind."

Annie declared she was ready and Xena kicked Argo into a gallop. The girl screamed with delight as the horse started moving faster and faster and she had the wind in her hair, and Xena's hair in her face so she couldn't see much…but maybe that was just as good.

They kept going with the same speed until Xena figured Argo needed a rest so she slowed down a bit. They kept a low pace for a while and just enjoyed the peacefulness of the day. Annie did most of the talking, but she didn't mind.

Argo seemed anxious to go fast again and did her best to get Xena's attention and when she did they set off.

Annie had never felt anything like it. The horses she had ridden at the farm had been old and had not been able to go this fast.

An hour later:

Xena dismounted Argo and helped Annie down. She found the situation rather embarrassing that she had to be helped down but the dress actually made it a bit difficult to do it on her own. As soon as she felt it was okay she would ask Xena and Gabrielle for some more convenient clothes for travelling on the road. Gabrielle wore a skirt but she never rode the horse but if Xena let her Annie very much intended to do so, that was if Argo would ever start liking her.

"That was great!" Annie exclaimed. "When can we do it again!"

Xena grabbed the saddlebags and tossed them to her, then took the horse's reigns. "Perhaps tomorrow." She scanned the area surrounding them. There was a small clearing that would be perfect for the night. She had travelled on this road before and camped there. There was water near by and plenty of wood to collect for a fire that would keep them warm during the night.

"Are we stopping here?"

Xena nodded. "Yes."

"Why? Can't we go a little farther today?" she asked disappointed.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea. Darkness will be here sooner than you think and when it does the road is not a nice place to be at." She started walking off the road and into the clearing. "It's better for you that we stay here"

Annie fallowed the warrior into the clearing. It was truly a beautiful spot with green grass and an amazing view of the forest since the place was right beside a precipice. Annie hoped to god that she wasn't going to start walking in her sleep because then she might end up seriously dead with it that close.

"So if it wasn't for me...you'd travel through the night? Or at least go farther today before nightfall?"

Xena looked up. "Maybe we'd travel a while longer but I doubt it since this is the best place to stop for the night that we will see on this road until...at least tomorrow evening. We couldn't make it that far in a few hours."

"Oh, okay then." She placed the saddlebags on the ground and sat down on a flat rock. "So what are you going to do now?"

Xena crossed her arms over her chest. "I am going to start setting up camp and YOU, are going to help me. It's important that you learn how to do this if you're ever on your own out here. If you don't...you'll simply freeze to death or get eaten by an animal."

Annie quickly got to her feet. "Fine, fine I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

"First of all you can hand me my saddlebags and then start collecting some firewood." She pointed into the woods. "Don't go too far, it will be dark soon and you can get lost."

"I won't." She promised and walked off into the woods. She wasn't afraid, why should she be? As long as she stayed close to the campsite she would be fine. The only thing bothering her at the time was that she had no weapon to defend herself with. Her next step was convincing Xena that she should at least be allowed to carry a knife in case she was attacked by an animal in the woods. How else would she be able to live like this?

She picked up little dry sticks and branches lying on the ground around her but she soon realized that they were too few and very small, not enough to keep the fire burning all night long and she didn't want to force Gabrielle or Xena to go and get more in the middle of the night alone just because she couldn't do her job.

She turned and looked at the way she had come, tried her best to memorize every tree and stone she saw. She was on a narrow path now which led down to a stream and on the other side of it six bushes filled with wonderful red berries stood. What a surprise it would be if she could bring some back for desert. Too bad she didn't have anything to put them in.

She knelt down and drank of the crystal clear water and also splashed some in her face.

The trees were so many that they blocked out the sunshine where she was now, the forest seemed darker here. She crossed the stream, it was not deep. As she was standing on the other side she wondered what they were having for supper.

"Probably rabbit stew."

She was so hungry. But not for food, she wanted something else. A chocolate bar would come in handy right now´ she thought and sighed deeply. Maybe the berries would taste like candy compared to rabbit stew. She picked a handful of berries and ate them, loving the taste. It wasn't candy and they were a bit sour but they were alright. She picked some more and sat down to enjoy them. Now that she was sitting down she became aware of how tired she was. It had been an eventful and exhausting day after all and she couldn't wait to get back to camp. Gabrielle had probably come back now and maybe she could get her to teach some of her nice moves with the staff.

She leaned back against a tree trunk and closed her eyes. She just needed to rest for a moment before she headed back.

Annie awoke with a jerk. Darkness surrounded her. She couldn't see anything. But she could hear the stream she was sitting by, but no birds singing. All quiet.

"How long have I been sitting here asleep?" she asked herself out loud in the dark. She rose quickly and tried to see the path she had come there on, but she just couldn't. Then she remembered having crossed the stream earlier and started moving towards the sound of it hoping that if she made it to the other side she could find the path and get back to camp easily. She got into the water and then up into the grass on the other side.

The woods were scarier than she had thought they would be after dark. She made her way uphill. But it was not the path she had been on before that she was now walking on. It was in fact no path at all. She stumbled over logs and fallen trees, fighting to get to the top.

When she finally reached it her foot was caught in something and she fell to the ground.

"Owe, owe, owe! That really hurt!" she whined and rubbed her ankle and knees. "Where the hell am I?" she asked not expecting anyone to offer an answer. Suddenly she heard a rustling sound behind her, something moving towards her. But it wasn't human, even she could tell that. Perhaps it's just a small, fuzzy little animal, like a rabbit or a squirrel.´ she thought, desperately trying to calm herself and keep her hands from shaking.

She heard it grunting, getting closer and closer. "Help somebody!" she cried out hoping someone, anyone would hear. She managed to get to her feet and started back stepping away from the noise. She had used up all her courage. "Xena! Gabrielle! Anyone?"

Her ankle hurt badly and when she started moving forward again she fell down. "Damn it!"

She was convinced that it was a great beast that was coming for her, or maybe a wild boar. It moved closer and was now standing right in front of her, she could smell it and feel it's breath upon her face. It was so close now that she could see it, it was all she saw. Then there was a whistling sound through the air and a loud thud as it fell to the ground with a screech.

She heard footsteps. Someone was coming, running towards her.

"Annie! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

She knew that voice, it was Xena's. She had never been so happy to hear a familiar voice before in her entire life. Then the whistling sound had come from her chakram which she had used to slay the beast with. The warrior was now on the ground next to her.

"It's my ankle, it hurts." She admitted. Xena scooped her into her arms and rose from the ground, she pulled her weapon from the animal's skull and put it back in her belt where it belonged and carried the girl back to camp whiteout saying a word.

To be continued