Chapter Twelve

A Dangerous Plan!

"You know, as tall as she is, your Xena looks like some kind of Amazon," Buffy commented.

"No, not Xena! More than once I've tried to talk her into letting us adopt her into my tribe, but she likes her independence. She's not comfortable with the communal life and all that sisterly bonding."

"You're an Amazon?"

"I am. I was initiated into the tribe not long after Xena and I started traveling together."

"You're kind of small for an Amazon, aren't you?" Dawn asked.

"Not really. It's just that Xena is unusually tall for a woman. Most of the women of my tribe are about my height. A few may be a hand or so taller."

"People back then weren't as tall as we are now," Tara told them.

"You keep saying your tribe." Buffy said.

"I'm their queen."

"Aren't you rather young to be a queen?"

"I'm not as young as you think I am. But my title is mostly ceremonial. Since Xena and I don't stay in one place very long, there is an actual reigning queen who rules the tribe. And each tribe has its own queen."

"That's interesting. There's not very much about the Amazons in the history books," Tara said.

"Will -- I mean, Gabrielle, there's something bothering me," Buffy said. "Just supposing Willow can't defeat this whatever it is, and is killed -- what happens then? Do you both die? Or just one of you? Or what?"

Gabrielle hesitated a few seconds. "I don't know. It never came up. I guess we all assumed that with Morgar, Yakut and Willow combining their magic, they would be victorious."

"You know what happens when you assume, don't you?" Dawn asked.

"No."

"You make an ass of you and me."

Gabrielle looked confused. "I don't know what that means. What does a wild donkey have to do with the two of us?"

"Never mind."

"So, you're telling us Willow could die! And you never even asked if she wanted to take that risk?" Tara was growing angrier and angrier the more she thought about it. "How COULD you? How DARE you even subject her to danger like that without even giving her the chance to refuse!"

"It wasn't me," Gabrielle answered, defending herself. "I'm not the shaman. I didn't do anything."

"You could have said no, that you wanted no part of such stupid, and outrageous, and dangerous plan!"

"Maybe she didn't have a choice," Buffy said, trying to calm the situation. "We weren't there."

"No. She's right," Gabrielle admitted. "I could have refused. And I considered it. But the thought of the possibility that Xena could be killed -- I couldn't accept that. I knew that whatever it would take to keep her safe, I was willing to do. I never even thought about how it would affect all of you. I'm so very sorry."

Tara wanted to say more, wanted somehow to express the fury and anger she was feeling, but there was no one other than Gabrielle to rage at.

"I don't know if this make any difference," Gabrielle continued. "I have no memories that are Willow's, but I do feel the -- passion she has for you; the passion and the love and the overwhelming desire to take you in my -- her arms, and hold you and comfort you. And to try to make it better somehow."

Tara's anger evaporated. And in it's place was the anguish and despair coming from the possibility she could lose her Willow. And as the tears began to run down Tara's cheeks, despite herself, Gabrielle went to her and embraced her, holding her tightly and trying to ignore the rising sexual tension she was feeling.

No one said anything for almost a minute, until it became evident there was more going on than Gabrielle consoling Tara. Buffy gently pried them apart, saying, "How about you save that for the bedroom?"

Embarrassed at not being able to control her emotions, Gabrielle tried stammering an apology, "I -- I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. I don't know what ..."

"No, I was part of it, too," Tara said. "It was both of us."

"Maybe you two should keep some distance between you for a while," Buffy suggested. "At least until you can get somewhere private."

"No," Gabrielle said. "No privacy -- anytime. Xena ... I just can't ... betray her."

"I understand," Tara told her. "Now I know what happened in the bathroom this morning -- why you said your stomach was hurting."

Gabrielle nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Changing the subject," Buffy said, "What exactly is this terrible evil Willow is supposed to help destroy?"

"I don't know. Morgar never really said. He just told us that it would take him, Yakut and Willow to defeat it. Xena and I think it may be an evil shamaness named Alti. She's tried many times before to kill Xena, but she always failed."

"So, who is this Yakut you keep mentioning?"

"She's an Amazon shamaness who died twenty five years ago. But she's not evil. Morgar said she contacted him to get his help finding a protector for Xena and me. And she came to Xena in a dream to direct us back to the Amazon tribe where he was staying."

"And you're confident the three of them can defeat this Alti?"

"Xena and I have done it before. So they should be able to, unless she's gotten more power from somewhere. And even if she did, if Willow has the ability to almost destroy this world, I don't see how Alti could possibly win."

Buffy, Dawn and Tara looked at each other in surprise and confusion, then they looked at Gabrielle.

"What are you talking about?" Tara asked her. "Willow never did anything like that."