20
Xena followed the sound of the voice and going back in her mind over what had been said that had driven her from the hospital. After all that had been Gabrielle hadnt once asked for justice instead she had asked for murder and why she hadnt killed Onagru. It was so unlike the Gabrielle she had fallen in love with and she was dead and gone only to be replaced by a Gabrielle that she simply did not recognise anymore and she didnt know how to get back the young woman she knew and loved. She found the singer sitting on a rock watching the dying sun. Jan turned and breaking off in mid line she smiled at her and pointed to the lowering sun." That just reminded me,' Waterloo Sunset' yer know." she said looking at once completely happy and sad in one go." Good song I liked it. Gabrielle would have liked it too, before." Xena said with a sigh and Jan looked puzzeled." How is she? " The warrior struggled to say the words and in the silence Jan waited until she finally blurted." She's changed, the bard thing music, dance, art, she loves all that, or she did. Now I just don't know, it just isn't there anymore, it's all gone." Jan frowned at the warrior." The love of art dosn't go away, maybe it was just my singing." Xena shook her head sadly." No it isn't that, she was so brutally treated even her humour and love and compassion are all gone too. I know I should talk to her but it's as if we are strangers and I don't know where to start and It's like she see's me as an enemy. I couldn't hold or comfort her and she actually shrank away from me." Xena looked sadly at her and Jan thorght a moment." Maybe it's the singer." She gave an awkward giggle." Sorry poor joke." and Xena emitted a low growl." I can't fix this with a song." " No you can't, sorry." she said again." It must be very hard for you seeing her like this. " You dont know the half of it Xena thorght grimly." I'm sure you will find a way to reach her Xena I'm sure of it." Jan said and Xena nodded appreciating the sentiment but also felt lost for want of an answer.
Gabrielle lay a while thinking what had happened. She squirmed as she felt something gripe at her insides like a steel hand squeezing her inards and needing to pee Gabrielle went over to the pot the healer had provided in a corner and as she squatted she thorght of the other things that were bugging her. I'm a coward she told herself I'm afraid to go out of the tent even to use the bushes, afraid to look at Onagru in the face let alone accuse him and I'm afraid of... Xena. Angry with herself and afraid. That thorght shocked her to the core. All these thorghts scared her more as she thorght about the warrior. While she was injured it hadnt posed a problem but now she realised soon she would have to leave with Xena and then she would have to face the prospect of... the thorght of any intimacy with Xena sent her into a cold sweat." You know my dear you really can't hide yourself away in here forever." Kara said suddenly as if reading her thorghts." You know you are going to have to face the world sometime." As Gabrielle walked to her place Kara went over to the pot and picked it up and gave it cursary glance to check for any changes then she carried it ouside to dispose of it and she suddenly felt the need to check her other patients.
Kara returned a few moments later and Gabrielle felt a sudden chill." Are you sending me away?." she asked suddenly." Good heavens no child. It dosn't take a day for a cure to a serious illness, but I see it in you, the healing has begun and you must consider what you are going to do." " What are you talking about ? I wasn't ill." " No, your malady then. Your hate and fear of being touched, by the man and her, your lover who you blame. You can't hide in here afraid of your own shadow." " Blame ! " " Don't you, for not rescuing you in time ? Have you even talked to her? " Kara looked into her sea green eyes and put up a hand." Don't bother I can see you havn't." Gabrielle remembering how tongue tied she was seeing the warrior. Was she blameing her ? In fact thinking about it she had been blameing Xena since that sorry buisness on that mountain. The battles with the dragon, coming here, Xena leaveing her to fend off Callisto, now this. No wonder Xena was seen like a stranger to her, a dangerously beautiful stranger no less but she hadnt been the cause of half of this. Gabrielle sat there thinking on it as Kara went on." A change of clothes dosn't change her or your friendship and you can't hide youself away or run away from life, or your love." Gabrielle stared at her thunder struck at what she was saying." Your crazy, you don't think, I could do that again ! I Hate it, hate that." she spat suddenly and Kara smiled." No doubt you do but it won't be like that forever. Don't you see Xena loves you ? and you will learn that everything changes and one day you will want to feel that love again. Not immediatly maybe." " No your wrong, I WILL never feel that way again." Kara sighed." Only if you wish it so." Then with a sigh the woman rose again and as she passed the flap unseen by the bard her form changed to Gaia before she dissapeared and a moment later Kara rounded the corner and entered the tent.
Kara felt a little confused why she had done that. There wern't that many injured now and it was just minor stuff and the couple of elder women there were easily capable of dealing with a problem. There had been nothing she needed to do when she got there and after checking she had turned back then somewhat annoyed. As the evening wore on she settled down at her spot by the fire and began to snoose as Gabrielle had snugged down in her cot.
Xena walked surefooted in the darkness back to the hospital and went in. She hadnt known whether to go back or stay away but in the end she made her way to the hospital. A small oil lamp burned in the corner and the old woman was curled up in her cot, Gabrielle too was asleep, covered in a blanket and in a way she was thankful for it. The way Gabrielle had looked at her had been scary. She feared Gabrielle had been going to tell her to go and it felt a stabbing pain in her heart. Xena padded across the room silently to not disturb them and stripped off her things and put the shirt on before she settled herself on the bed next to the bard and lay down and a few moments later she fell asleep.
Sometime before dawn Gabrielle woke to a movement beside her and saw the warrior laying there. How had she got so close beside her there without her knowing ? Under her shirt Gabrielle could see the outline of her breasts, the hard nipples pushing up against the material invitingly rising and falling as she breathed. It had rucked up with her turning in her sleep and as the bard sat up she saw the top of Xena's legs revealing her crowning glory at the top of her legs. She got an unprecidented view of it with her legs slightly spread as for hygene sake Xena prefered the Roman fashion and had recently shaved as apposed to the painful method of bathouse plucking. The sight took her breath away as memories suddenly flooded her of their past love makeing. Xena's hot kisses that hungrily met her own, the touch of Xena's fingers on her skin arouseing her and raising tingles under her flesh. Their bodies pressed together as they danced and gyrated to the tune of love and then how Xena had made her cry with the power of that touch, and how she had replied doing the same as Xena had done to her. They were lovers but she didnt want to see it, didnt want to be reminded and all at once she was excited and repulsed. How could they go back to being what they had been? How could she bare to be touched like that again ? No Kara was wrong, she couldnt do that. She couldnt she just couldnt.
As the day broke a while later the three women had woken in an uncomfortable silence and then sat and ate the cooked breakfast Kara had made in the strangely odd quiet atmosphere. Gabrielle avoided Xena's gaze and only made eye contact with the healer. Kara gave the warrior a look of reasurance as Xena noticed. Afterwards Xena went to the corner and began to dress and Kara looked up as the horn sounded and she clapped her hands." That's it, time to go." she said." What ? " Gabrielle paled." It's the call, we use the horn to sound for meetings and trials and suchlike and it's better than having someone going around shouting." " Your going too ? " the bard stared at her." Yes I must give my testiment, you wern't the only one injured in the fight you know. I've been careing for them also." Kara said and Gabrielle rose ubruptly." Would you wait please I'm coming too." Both Xena and Kara exchanged glances as Gabrielle began to get ready.
As work was held off for the day there was already a full and noisy gathering by the time Xena, Gabrielle and Kara joined and framed by the two women Gabrielle tried to hide her nervousness to the loud sounds and the sight of so many. At the top of the small incline where the temple remains stood reminding everyone of the recent devistation wrought upon their town the leaders stood waiting on the uneven ground a good head or two taller over the crowd and tried to keep order. Deimos, Bricus, Strabo and Theron resplendent in his returned robes of office as head priest and he began things by calling upon the goddess to bare witness as Deimos gave a nod to Churchill waiting on the other hillside away from the houses. He dissapeared from view and then a moment later they saw him at the head of a troop of his newly formed Millitia escorting the two prisoners. At sight of Micha and Onagru Gabrielle beat back the urge to run as the crowds noise became a deafening roar and they were brought to silence by the flashing arrival of the Goddess. Gaia.
Micha and Onagru were brought forward and made to knell. Onagru stared defiantly back while Micha cringed as Deimos began with the procedings." Sargeant Onagru, you attacked the town and brought murder and mayhem upon us." Onagru gave a derisive snort." Whoever said that lies. I just did my job." He said putting on a brave front. " Under Micha's orders no doubt but you knew what you were doing and it is no excuse to say you were only obeying someone elses orders." " No I didn't do anything. It was Micha." " You knew what you were doing was wrong. You were hired to protect us. What you did though was the complete opposite." " You can't blame me for that. I did nothing."
" No It is you who lies." Leia said stepping forward." You took me prisoner, I was kidnapped and locked in a cell to threaten Theron with all manner of your cruelties." " No It was Micha I tell you."
" It wasn't Micha who brought me to you for your pleasure. A gift Callisto said. i was nothing to you. You raped me, you beat me and raped me." Gabrielle suddenly coming from the group said breathing hard her voice catching in her throat and surprising herself as she shook with emotion and Onagru tried to look away." I tended her wounds I can bare witness to her injuries, and to the others injured in the fight." Kara added coldly." Proves nothing, it could have been anyone." Onagru said and one of the guards stepped forward." I was there I know It was him, he was promised anything he wanted for flattening you I swear it." the guard said giving his former boss a look of distain and Onagru growled a curse at him knowing that was the end. Deimos raised a hand." For making war on Urgit and it's people, For useing excessive force and kidnap and the rape of the woman Gabrielle the sentence is... Death and your body denied burial rights and displayed til it rots."
" You can't include her she's not one of you." Onagru jumped up yelling at them and he struggled against the soldiers holding him." I can and yes she is and the sentence shall be carried out at first light tomorrow." Deimos said making Onagru know for certain of his sentence.
" Oh will you get on with it. I havn't got all day." Gaia said getting bored." Yeah it's all very well for you we got work to be getting on with." Emma shouted and the shaman shouted so to be heard over everyone." This my accolite." he said pointing to Micha. " He stole the Orb to take the world for his prize. Imprisoned me and took my place as head priest and brought an immortal demon through the Orb to make war on us and tried to enslave all the world." Micha shuddered under the goddess's glare and shrank down like a wizened imp as her words boomed out over him." The one who misused the Orb, he's mine." she said claiming him and the shaman nodded in obediance to her." For his crime he will be slave to the earth. Forever. Never dying nor living, lost to all time. For all time." Gaia declared loudly and then she stared down a scared witless Micha.
Slave to the earth no one was too sure what it meant exactly but everyone believed the sentence didnt bode well for the hapless Micha as he shrank back and huddled into himself. With a wave of her arm she brought the Orb shuddering a few yards before them all and the crowd shuffled back as she pointed to the frightened former accolite who suddenly rose off the ground and floated, gathered speed and was sent flying, with a scream into the Orb and dissapeared in a flash. With everyone's attention on what was happening Onagru took his chance. Jan was standing close and he pushed the guard aside and seized her sword hilt and drew it free thrusting it at her. Caro jumped forward putting himself between her and the blade and Jan screamed as Caro slumped against her and Onagru drew the bloody blade and slashing air made a dash for it. Xena too far away was only able to watch as everyone else as they crowded round." GAIA." she shouted furiously but the goddess had already left them. With a pleading look Kara knowing there was nothing she could do for her son looked up at Xena with red rimmed eyes and the warrior slammed her fingers into his nerves deadening the pain and moments later Caro died in Jan's arms surounded by Kara, Deimos and all his friends." This time he does not come back." Xena growled and the headman nodded and she set off.
The persuit wasnt like the first it was more like a straight run and when she caught up with the murderer and knocked him out they were both still quite close to Urgit. Too close she thorght for what she had in mind Xena needed them to be further away and she picked him up and slipped him over her shoulders and ran. takeing him further away.
The sargeant opened his eyes and the first thing he realised was that apart from being very uncomfortably tied he was not anywhere he had been when captured. His arms were pulled over his head and tied to a stake driven into the ground. His legs were simmerly pulled tightly and staked down. He couldnt move. He looked and saw that he was stripped comppletely naked and he had a strip of his shirt tied in a bow around his genitals. Kinky he thorght and would have said so but for the material stuffed in his mouth which he thorght to be the rest of his shirt and also with another strip tied round his face to stop him spitting it out. Then he looked up and saw the woman standing over him with a feral grin as she said." Don't bother to struggle you were sentenced to death and you are gonna die soon enough only the manner of it will be different. Don't think it'll be quick either cos' it won't be." She'd been whittling on a stake while she was talking and then she pushed it into the ground beneath him." Oh and it is going to hurt. Lots." she said, her grin widening and if he thorght for a moment for some compassion, some humanity in her eyes he saw none and then she put her whole weight on him until he felt the wooden point entering. Shakeing his head Onagru began to whimper with tears springing to eyes." Are you getting the point now you sorry piece of shi ? " she whispered in his ear as she pushed him down further and saw his face contort in agony. Then she walked away a few yards and gave a howl and waited, she howled again and heard the distant answering cry of a wolf. In panic Onagru was shakeing his head and makeing gutteral sounds through the gag and she climbed a tree to watch as he squirmed and blood began to trickle down the stake. It wasnt long until Onagru saw two yellow eyes stareing, then two more and then many. The first entered the clearing the long nose sniffing the air tasteing the blood smell mixing with the smell of fear as Onagru saw the big shaggy mane of the Alpha male and wet himself as the wolf came forward. It took a while for the wolf pack to leave before Xena thorght it safe to climb down and take off the head and toss it as far as she could. There was very little left that was recognisably human as she turned away and headed back to town.