Chapter 12

Gabrielle was thrashing about in the bed, a nightmare playing on in her head. Xena woke up to the movements, and reached around the bard to pull her in tighter and to whisper in her ear.

"Wake up Gabrielle. Shh, come on baby. It's just a nightmare. Wake up."

Gabrielle's eyes flew open and she stared at Xena in disbelief for a moment before her mind caught up to reality. Her eyes started to water, and Xena pulled her head down to her chest so Gabrielle could let it out. They lay there for a long time before Gabrielle's crying subsided, Xena whispering words of comfort to her. When she felt Gabrielle quiet down in her arms, she let her go slightly so she could look into her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Xena asked.

"I keep re-living those last few days in Jappa over, and the dreams are so vivid. I keep seeing your headless body, then the fight on the mountain, and the last moment I spoke to you." Gabrielle spoke hoarsely, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

Xena pulled Gabrielle in again, "Shh. It's going to be okay Gabrielle. I am here now and have no intention of going anywhere again. The nightmares will slow with time, when your mind has processed it better. I love you, my sweet little one."

"I love you too, my strong warrior," Gabrielle squeezed her tighter, "Sometimes I have to remind myself that you really are here. So much has happened in such a very short span of time, my mind is just racing."

"I know how you feel. When I wake up and actually feel you in my arms, it takes me a minute or two before I realize you really are there, and that I am working towards making this a permanent thing."

"It will be. It has to be. So much is riding on this, we have to prevail."

"I know," Xena whispered, and then glanced outside, "It's only about a candle mark before sunrise. You should get a little more sleep, love."

"I am not tired anymore. I can think of something else I would rather do before we get ready to hunt." Gabrielle said with a wink.

Xena smiled and leaned in to capture her bard's soft lips with her own, starting a fire that was sure to take a couple hours to burn. They spent the early morning hours in bed, exploring each other, before they were fully sated.

"I am going to go get the water ready for a bath, love." Xena said, slowly extracting herself from the warmth of the bed.

"Alright, I will go get breakfast ready. Perhaps today we can actually have the warm breakfast I make." Gabrielle said with a giggle.

Xena laughed, "That would be great." She put on her shift, leaned in for another kiss, and then went to go get water started.

Gabrielle got up and dressed then busied herself with breakfast while Xena came in and out with the water. They got the bath set up to cool, then sat down to eat. When breakfast was done, they went to bathe, and as they washed each other their desires took over again and it was another hour or so before they were finished in the tub. They finally got out and dressed fully, adding their weapons and armour this time as they were getting ready to hunt. They heard the shimmer outside and knew that it was time to head out.

They grabbed their gear and made their way out to the horses. Both Ares and Aphrodite were beside the horses, waiting patiently.

"Good...well I suppose there is still SOME morning left." Aphrodite winked.

Gabrielle blushed and Xena chuckled at her before she said, "Well, you did provide us with such a wonderful cabin and, uh, accessories, that we felt it would be rude to not use them."

"Xena!" Gabrielle swatted her warrior's arm, causing everyone to laugh again.

"So," Xena said in a more serious tone, though still smiling, "Your note said that there was a time limit on the beast that needs to be hunted? Judging by the time frame, I would assume it is because the full moon approaches?"

"Yes," Ares replied, "The full moon gives the beast unimaginable power, as well as a larger blood lust. It has been attacking the Amazon nation relentlessly every month for awhile now. We are unsure how it came to these lands. But, since its power increases in a few days time, we felt that you should take it out before then, since you likely don't want to wait until after and have it attack the nation again."

Gabrielle took in these words, anger filling her, "Why wasn't I informed of this until now?!"

Xena reached out to take Gabrielle's hand to calm her, then turned her attention back to the Gods, "It's because you didn't know it was here until we were already in Jappa, isn't it? And, as Gabrielle passed the crown, Varia would have to be the one to let her know."

"Yes," Aph was the one to answer, "I have tried to keep an eye on both of you, keep up with my Love Goddess duties and to watch over the Amazons, both for the sake of Gabrielle and for my love of Artemis. Sadly, even as a Goddess I can't do it all at once. I didn't get the message from the Amazons until Gabrielle was on her way back here, and by that point we had figured out how to bring you back to your mortal form. I was trying to ease you guys back into this and didn't want to add extra stress. I am sorry I didn't let you know sooner."

"Do you still have the message from the Amazons?" Gabrielle asked, trying to maintain some semblance of calm, though her tone dripped with anger and frustration.

"Yes, hang on a moment." Aph snapped her fingers and a scroll appeared, floating in front of Gabrielle.

Gabrielle grabbed it, unrolled it and read it out loud, "It says: 'I hope this reaches you Gabrielle. We are in danger. Some monster continues to attack the village. We have lost several good people in this fight. I need yours and Xena's help here. We are at a loss. Please hurry.' It's signed by Varia." Gabrielle let go of Xena's hand walked towards the horses, cursing under her breath.

"Are we supposed to go visit the Amazons first? I thought you were keeping outside influences out of these trials?" Xena asked the Gods, but her eyes never left her bard.

"We are. Any of the other outside influences will be kept back. The part of this that will resurrect Artemis is to kill the beast and bring its hide to Artemis' temple. We won't be able to assist you much more with this. The Amazons will hopefully be able to answer questions about the beast for you. Keep in mind as well that it must be by one of your hands that the beast dies, so if you choose to bring any Amazon warriors with you, they must not kill the beast." Ares said.

"Fine. We'll leave at once." Gabrielle said, fastened her saddlebag to her horse, mounted it, then started moving away.

Xena frowned at her bard, then proceeded to secure her saddlebag to Argo and mount her as well, "Thanks for the information. I guess we shall see you at Artemis' temple when this is over."

"Yes. Good luck." Aph said as her and Ares disappeared.

Xena nudged Argo forwards, catching up with Gabrielle quickly before slowing her horse down to match Gabrielle's pace. Gabrielle's face was set with anger, which worried the warrior. She hoped Gabrielle had gained enough wisdom to know not to go into this with any sort of vendetta.

"Gabrielle?" Xena asked her tentatively.

"What?" Gabrielle said harshly, taking the warrior of guard.

"Never mind." Xena said softly, taking her eyes off of Gabrielle and focusing on the road.

Gabrielle looked over at Xena and her anger started to ebb away. She sighed, and then reached over to grab Xena's hand, "I'm sorry Xena. I don't know where that anger came from."

"It's understandable. These women are still your tribe, even if it's not the people you grew to love so long ago. You feel responsible for them as their queen, whether you gave up the title or not, and a part of you is wishing you had stayed to be their queen, to watch over them while they dealt with the hardships and suffering that they are currently facing, am I right?"

"Yeah, I guess I just kept thinking back to how we were too late to save Eponin, Solari or Ephiny. Or our parents. We are always away from the people we love when something happens to them."

"I know. I learned long ago, however, that since I am mortal, I can not be everywhere at once. I have to accept that, and if something does happen, I have to make sure justice is done."

"Yeah, I guess with everything that has happened to us over the years, I should know that lesson myself."

"It's okay Gabrielle. We'll figure this out and help the nation." Xena said, squeezing the bard's hand.

"Thanks." Gabrielle replied, "We should move faster if we want to reach the village before dark.

"Yes, let's get going."

They nudged their horses into run, enjoying the feel of the wind on their faces as they moved. It was just after sundown when they reached the borders of the Amazon nation. They slowed their horses down, and Xena whistled into the air some Amazon signals to announce their approach. Three warriors in masks dropped out of the trees as Gabrielle and Xena dismounted their horses. They approached the Amazons with their arms in the air, hands clasped together in a symbol of peace. Xena's eyes looked over the warriors and noticed that something was a little strange, but she could sense no evil either. She could just sense something, familiar, but couldn't figure out what. The Amazons bowed, not removing their masks. Gabrielle looked at Xena, confused by this, as it was customary for the Amazons to remove their masks when addressing a Queen, unless in the middle of a ritual.

"Stand, warriors. Remove your masks." Gabrielle voice took a commanding tone.

"As you wish, my Queen" said the one in the middle, and all three warriors removed their masks.

Gabrielle fainted at the sight of her three favourite Amazons, Ephiny, Solari and Eponin, standing before her.