FEELING THE TRUTH OF YOUR PAIN

Xena looked at Kleitos who was walking slightly in front of her, her arms and her legs had been chained. She didn't have her weapons the guards had taken them from her and now she was being led down a corridor full of cells. "Don't do this Kleitos! I didn't try to kill your daughter with that arrow I was trying to save her, Elpidios is plotting against you!" She sneered slightly. "He probably not working alone ether my guess is that others are with him. The assassin in the cell who hung himself did not kill himself he was killed by someone else! He was killed to cover up a plot that is against your throne, a plot that would have no doubt shocked every one if it was ever found out."

Kleitos sneered at her as they came to stop in a large room which had a barred pit. He watched as the guard grabbed the turning handle causing the pits barred door to rise up. "Quite I do not believe you, you are disgusting ex warlord who sexuality assaulted my servants!" Xena breathed in as she was shoved forward. "Yes I admit it, I sexuality assaulted your servants and pillaged your other home!" She looked down slightly ignoring his surprise. "I hate my self for doing it, I wish I could take it all back but I can't!" She shook her head sadly. "My friend Gabrielle is innocent! You're going to kill her and all because she broke your daughter's heart. She's not the one who tried to kill her, she did nothing but care about her because she's a good person she's not like me!"

She sneered slightly. "She hid who she really was because she had no choice! That pendent is godly it's probably the pendent that gave Theron his power on the battle field! They said that Ares gave him the power of ten men like Hercules and he used it to bring your fathers kingdom almost to its knees." She looked up slightly. "If that pendent has Ares's power and slips in to Elpidios's hand, you will be killed by him and his loyal friends and they will do much worse to your daughter before they kill her than that woman did to her some years back." Kleitos turned sharply eyeing her. "How dare you bring up what happened with my daughter you have no right to know such a thing!"

Xena shook her head sadly. "Well I do know such a thing and I am sorry, no young woman deserves to have that to happen to her." Kleitos roared in anger as he stepped back eyeing his guards. "You are full of lies Xena and I will see that you die for them, this pit will be your death!" He turned to the guards. "Throw her in!" Xena narrowed her gaze. "Don't do this Kleitos I am not your enemy!" She didn't get a chance to speak as she was kicked by the guards in the back she fell forward only to fall in to the darkness bellow. The next moments turned to pure agony as she hit the solid ground on her front. She screamed in pain feeling the cold stone under her body even in her leather that had really hurt.

Kleitos watched as the barred door to the round pit was lowered back in place there was no food and no sun light you couldn't see to crawl up the wall. It was a slow and painful death he watched as the guards locked the barred door down. "Welcome to your punishment Xena, a slow painful death in the darkness!" He folded his arms. "Your friend's cell isn't far from this room even from here you'll hear her screaming echoing all around you! I hope you enjoy it while it lasts because she'll be dead long before you are!" He stepped back as her scream of rage hit the air in the darkness bellow as the thought of her friend dying hit home.

8

Elpidios smiled watching as Gabrielle was chained against the wall of the musty cell. He eased up his arm tightening the leather strapping on his hand he eyed the guard close by. "Leave." The guard looked up slowly. "By royal law I have to stay to ensure that punishment is fair." Elpidios eyed him in disgust. "I said leave!" He watched as the man lowered his head leaving the room closing the barred door behind him. He adjusted the strapping again on his right hand he was going to enjoy this. "Do you know about Thera?" Gabrielle looked at the chains on her hands which were long enough that she could stand up and sit down on the floor despite being chained to the wall. "No."

Elpidios smirked. "Thera was the young woman who was hung I have no doubt in my mind that Sophia will do the same to you after I'm done." Gabrielle pulled on the chains feeling the pain in her wrist. She'd been chained many times before but only chained she could feel a sinking in her stomach as the feeling off fear over took her. She had never been beaten while being chained and now that she was faced with the thought she felt uncertain of how to handle it. Elpidios eyed her. "Don't think for a second that Xena's coming to your rescue, because it will not happen. The place where they've put her is a death sentence, so you won't be able to worm your way out of here."

Gabrielle looked at him for a long moment as the truth hit home in her mind. "It was you who fired that arrow at the window!" Elpidios smirked. "Not me but one of my loyal men. There is nothing you can do to prove it now since you're a traitor. Your turning in to man also made it easier for me to set you both up to take the fall." He smiled pulling the godly pendent out of his shirt. "I get the feeling that you've never been beaten while chained I can see the fear in your eyes." He looked at the pendant in his other hand. "I'll make it easy for you, tell me what this does and your beating will be less painful." Gabrielle breathed in feeling the fear hit home fully. She'd become so used to being rescued so used to being saved. She had always been spared this kind of pain and now that she was faced with it her heart was starting to pound in her chest.

She looked up. "I found it in the meadow." Elpidios didn't think as he brought his fist up smashing it in to her stomach causing her scream of agony hit the air as she hit the floor on her knees clutching her mid section. He grabbed her hair pulling her up on to her feet savagely by it. "Don't try and be smart I want to know everything the meadow and what was around it." He didn't think as he put the pendent away then slammed his fist in to her face watching as her feet left the ground and she hit the floor hard on her back crying out in pain. "You see I really like the sound of this pendent, if it has the power to change you in to man then I wonder what power it has when a real man puts it on."

Gabrielle clutched her face in agony trying to take the pain. "I don't know what it does!" Elpidios didn't think as he brought his boot down smashing in to her mid section with all his might enjoying her scream as it hit the air. "Yes you do and you're going to tell me! Or I'm going to carry on beating you to with in an inch of your miserable life!" He turned in surprise watching as Kolina walked in she closed the door behind her. She looked at the young woman who was her knees curled up in a ball trying to take the pain. She closed her eyes trying to ignore the painful image of her sister being beaten in this same way in this cell. "She doesn't know."

Elpidios turned to her sharply. "She does know! Why are you here? You're not meant to be here you're meant to be with the king whispering in his ear about how right this is." Kolina eyed the young woman in pain in front of her. "This isn't right and you know it." She looked at the young woman again feeling all her pain return. This was wrong and a part of her couldn't go through this all over again, it was her sister once more and the truth was that now she'd had time to think about this it was in no manner right. They were setting up a young innocent woman to die to obtain the kings throne? Her sister had been innocent and right now she couldn't stop thinking about that.

She looked at the green eyed woman again watching as she tried to get up only to fall over again due to her pain. "My sister died this same way, it's true this woman changed her form in to that of a man but she is innocent." Elpidios snorted in disgust. "You've picked the wrong time to change sides, you realize that?" Kolina folded her arms in disgust. "This is not the way I saw your plans we were going to kill Sophia and her father quickly, yet now you are beating up this woman and for what? Just to throw your weight around, she was never part of the plan nether was Xena! The plan was to get rid off them not to kill them both!"

Elpidios grabbed the young woman's blonde hair again. "Get rid means death or were you not listening?" Kolina shook her head in disgust. "You stupid bastard Xena will kill you for this, if she ever gets free. I did not want this I've come to realize that now. I wish I'd never been a part of your vile plans." She looked at Gabrielle. "I admit I never liked Sebastianos but she is not Sebastianos, she is an innocent woman who won Sophia's heart and now she's caught up in all this. Chara just manipulated Sophia in to throwing her in here and hurting her and all just to get her own back for her cruel behaviour and I am guessing you put her up to that."

Elpidios sneered at her. "I didn't put Chara up to that, that was her own doing and we all hate Sophia. This is what's best for everyone since I now have the pendant." Kolina eyed him. "No it's just what's best for you." Elpidios laughed slightly. "If you don't like it then you can leave, I am sure some one else can take your place, in the bedroom that it. You were never that important to me anyway I just needed your charms." Kolina felt the pain tear through her chest as the revelation of everything came in to focus she had been used. Elpidios had never loved her it all just boiled down to sex. She took in another deep breath stepping back feeling the dark hatred burn as she looked at him as she opened the cell door moving through it. "I hope you burn in Tartarus Elpidios!"

8

Sophia sat still in her chair in side her room feeling the tears came all too quickly before she could stop them. She had been lied to and cheated! She didn't think as she grabbed the vase close by screaming in pain as she threw it at the wall watching as it shattered in to a thousand pieces, she was such a fool! The worst part of all was she'd fallen in love with that man! Yet he wasn't a man at all he was a woman and it all had been a lie! How could she be so stupid how could fall for some dirty disgusting trick like that? The royal council had all found it amusing they had all been laughing her despite that none had laughed aloud.

She hated them all they were all bastards and bitches and they all loved to mock her and laugh at her when someone broke her heart! She wished she could take these couple of days back so that she wouldn't be here right now humiliated once more by the royal council. She wished more than anything that she hadn't fall in love with that woman who was posing as a man! She'd been so in love with her she had told her private personal things and she'd even wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. She was so stupid she should have seen that this was a lie. She should have known that it wasn't real no one really loved her they all just used her and then abused her it was like a sick twisted game!

Damokles walked up the hall towards Sophia's room his anger was starting to boil he felt disgusted and betrayed by almost every one around him at this moment. Chara had disgusted him the most, she had turned this situation back on Gabrielle and brought forth Sophia's anger it was so evil why would she do something like that? What was she trying to hide something? Yes she was, he just had no idea what it was! He turned realizing that Heli was coming up the hall following him, he turned sharply. "Why are you here!?" Heli stopped still. "I am here because a young woman is being beaten in a cell who I have come to call a friend why are you here?"

Damokles stopped still. "I'm here to talk to the princess because I'm not willing to watch another young woman die for something she didn't do!" He didn't think as he shoved the door open to Sophia's room he could feel the boiling rage burning in side and right now he didn't care if he angered her. He watched as she looked up the tears in her eyes he couldn't stop his next words they just came out as the rage finally took over. "Do you have any idea what you have just done?!" Sophia stopped still feeling the disgust take over how dare he enter her room with out knocking. "Get out of my room!"

Damokles folded his arms un-amused by her selfish spoilt, behaviour, frankly he was sick of it now and he'd had enough of it. "No I won't get out your room." He moved closer to her. "You have just sent an innocent woman to be punished and all because she broke your heart!" He felt his hand form a fist. "People break hearts it's the way of the world Sophia but they don't die for it!" Sophia felt the rage burn. "She's a sick twisted little sapphist who played with my heart, she deserves what she gets!" Damokles felt his anger as it started to burn even brighter. He ignored Heli who entered the room slowly closing the open door behind him and then stood in front of it so no one could enter. "No she isn't, she's a kind young woman who cared about you deeply and tried to help you."

He shook his head. "She was nothing but kind to you! She gave you a kindness and respect that you don't deserve because you don't give it to others even those who care about you!" Sophia sneered slightly. "Bastard she used me!" Damokles shook his head. "No she didn't use you, you used her at first, she was your toy and you used her to get back at the other male members of the royal council." He raised his hand. "She was your toy to make us jealous! So now that you've found out that your toy is broken, you're going to throw it away?" He folded his arms. "You're going to watch her die and all for your selfish spoilt pride, she is not your toy she is a young woman who's the same age as you are and she is suffering right now because of you!"

Sophia turned sharply. "I loved her she was never my toy I cared about her, him!" Damokles shook his head. "With every blow she receives in that cell she will care about you even less and any friendship you both had will come to an end, do you really want see another woman hang who is innocent!" Sophia eased up her hands. "Thera was not innocent!" Damokles sneered in disgust. "Did you ever see the face of the woman who hurt you?" Sophia stopped feeling the pain hit home she didn't want to talk about it. "No but it was her dress I tour a strip off!" Damokles grabbed her arm pulling her towards him. "You don't know do you!?"

He eyed her. "You do realize that some of the female members of the royal council steal clothes from other members because they like them. It happens all the time and it's been going on for years! You had no solid proof that if was Thera! It was your word against hers and you won because of your royal blood. Do you realize that your selfish actions put a woman to her death who could have been innocent!?" Sophia felt the tears fall as her heart twisted in pain as the truth him home. "No!" Damokles snarled aloud. "Yes! That was your doing you killed a woman who you weren't sure about and her blood is on your hands. You knew like the rest of us that she had a more open sexuality and she was the obvious choice, but she wasn't the right choice, she was your selfish easy choice." He moved her forward ignoring her struggling. "And now I'm going to take you down to Gabrielle's cell so you can see your second selfish choice and find out what the full consciences of your actions have been!" Heli opened the door walking behind Sophia as Damokles brought her through. He had wanted to say something but he felt the other man was now in control and his actions were the right ones. He'd wait for his moment which would come soon enough.

End of part 21

Silvermoonlight