A/N: I am truly sorry, it's been awhile and I'm going to admit that somethings have been a real pain in the ass lately. So, here and now I am going to give my self a little goal: publishing a chapter a week. I think that sounds reasonable. I mean I was doing it awhile ago haha, but I think I'll do my best to keep to it.
Enjoy!
Gabrielle went on to illustrate her journey with Xena to Larisa except she left out the parts about going to the future. When she decided it was a sufficient amount of information given, she sat quietly and waited for a response.
"You really know Xena," Larisa had her eyes on the stone ground. "I feel something strong within me telling me that I should trust you." The aunt sighed. "Alright. I believe you but she won't."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Gabrielle was on the verge of letting her tears make their grand appearance.
Larisa put her arm around Gabrielle, "we'll figure something out, you and I... and maybe this is like a second chance for you in a way. You said you both were apart for awhile and exchanged letters. Maybe this is a chance for you to get a little closer, you know what I'm saying?"
"I get it." Gabrielle leaned into Larisa.
Larisa offered Gabrielle a place to stay in her house and that she could stay as long as she needed but she'd probably have to pretend she was a hired help so Larisa's husband wouldn't become suspicious.
When they arrived at the small villa, Larisa guided Gabrielle up to the room she would be sharing with the other maid, Iole. Next to that room was the one Xena had to share with her little cousin Deianira.
Iole was young and sweet and happy to share a room with Gabrielle. She had long brown hair and eyes of the same color. She was also short but she was younger than Gabrielle, about fifteen years old.
Larisa filled her in on when Xena would come back from the palace. It was a specific time and it was consistent. She wouldn't stay out long after a day with Alexander because she was normally exhausted.
Iole asked her a load of questions which Gabrielle would give her short answers and refused to elaborate. Gabrielle was trying to listen for Xena from the inside of the tight room. She was trying to hear like Xena had taught her.
Iole was going on about something but what she said caught Gabrielle's attention.
"I'm so glad tomorrow will be Saturday. I, I mean we get to go shopping for the house and usually Xena goes with me because she's so overprotective. Ha, such a worry wort. I can go on my own-," Iole was cut off by Gabrielle.
"She goes shopping with you?" Xena goes shopping?
"She doesn't do any real shopping, she just supervises me so I don't get into trouble," she said and rolled her eyes.
Gabrielle wanted to say an awful lot but she held it in, "I can be like that too. You good at making the vendors cry?" Gabrielle sat on the narrow bed with her back to the wall.
"Almost, they get annoyed quickly. I make sure I get in big lines so others become impatient when it's my turn."
"Totally conniving, kiddo." Gabrielle yawned shortly after saying that.
"You must be tired... I guess I am too." Iole went over to the candle on the small desk. "You sleep with this thing on?"
Gabrielle curled up on her side and said, "nope." She began to think of ways to approach Xena and gain her trust.
Iole blew out the candle and said goodnight.
In the morning...
It couldn't be more awkward for Gabrielle to wake up in a new place with new people. Iole had woken her up early just as she would herself every morning.
At least she was nice about it, but then she remembered Xena was even nicer when it came to waking up pleasantly some mornings.
After they dressed, Iole brought her down to the kitchen and showed her where everything was and stored. Iole also made a little breakfast for the both of them and then went on to complete the morning chores within the house.
The entire morning, Gabrielle wondered when Xena would come around, but she remembered how early they had woken up. It was early even for Xena.
And that fact surprised Gabrielle. So, all the easy little chores around the house made for a good distraction. Yet it felt like a life time's worth of waiting.
An hour went by and Gabrielle had yet to see Xena.
Once again she found a great distraction by the name Iole and Iole loved to talk just as much as herself.
"Gabrielle, is this your first time here?" Iole asked.
She nodded, "pretty much. I didn't know what to expect. I had recently been to Corinth and thought that once you've been to one Greek city you've been to 'em all," she said jokingly.
"You are not wrong. Where are you from anyway?"
"I didn't tell you?" Gabrielle didn't know if she should be honest or not but her conscience got the best of her.
"No, you didn't."
"I'm from Poteidaia. It's a little bitty pissant country place," Gabrielle chuckles after she said that.
"Oh, you're a farm girl! Me too!" Iole then thought she oughta try something out with Gabrielle. "You know what they say about us country girls?"
Gabrielle laughed, "they make do!"
The little kitchen echoed with laughter.
"What's so funny?" A familiar voice asked.
Upon seeing the woman in the doorway, Gabrielle used all her self control to not run into the arms of that woman because she knew the gesture would not be reciprocated. It wouldn't be welcomed.
"Oh nothin' you'd wanna know," Iole chortled.
"Humor me," said Xena.
"I'd rather not. Things seem to fly right over your head." Now Iole's face was gradually turning red.
"Ha ha, very funny. Let's not get into that, but why don't you tell me who this is?" Xena came closer and stood beside Iole who was sitting on a wood bench next to Gabrielle.
"This is Gabrielle and she's our new set of hands around here."
Iole and Xena kept talking. Gabrielle watched silently while subtlety observing this younger Xena.
Gabrielle decided that she definitely looked and acted younger than before. At the same time, she concluded that this younger Xena had a stick up her ass. Kinda explains a lot. Why she was like the way she was. No, is. That is why she is like the way she is. This is the same Xena. Just a different place in her life. I'm just meeting her a few years early, that's all.
"Gabrielle..."
Finally she snapped back from her thoughts.
"Yes?" Gabrielle lightened up after hearing Xena say her name. It felt wonderful on her ears.
"Would you like to come along? With us? Today?"
"Sure, I'd like that. You both could show me around." Of all places in time... Aphrodite you, ugh.
Gabrielle couldn't help but feel saddened inside but on the outside she looked and acted as everything was normal. It definitely wasn't but you know her.
In the market...
Gabrielle walked next to Xena while Iole walked in front of them. Normally Iole would stay in front of Xena. Xena And Iole preferred it that way because Iole felt safe knowing Xena was keeping an eye on her without having to stay right next to her. Iole was her own person and she didn't like the feeling of someone always hovering over her.
Xena understood that and let her be... from a distance.
The market was a colorful place. Lots of people from all over world, different materials and foods. This is what Gabrielle was missing but now she was seeing it for herself and she was amazed at the sights before her green eyes.
Seeing Gabrielle look around, Xena couldn't help but ask, "you've never seen any of this before?"
Gabrielle gravitated her attention towards Xena and replied, "never. We have a little center like this at home but it's got absolutely nothing on this." She used her hands to gesture at everything in their general direction.
"It's really something else isn't it? I'm from Amphipolis and that's not too far from Poteidaia," Xena said.
"About a two weeks ride," they said together simultaneously. They then sort of chuckled it off.
"I take it you've been there?" Xena grinned. Whenever she spoke of her village, the mentioning of how long it would take was a like a habit almost and she would always say "about a two weeks ride."
"Yeah, a little while ago. I stayed at the inn. It's a great place." Gabrielle knew if she shared a few small things like that it might land her in Xena's good favor or in her arms. Either would be greatly accepted.
"My mother, Cyrene, runs the inn and so does my brother, Toris. I was raised in that mad house believe it or not," Xena said with a quick laugh.
Gabrielle was now going to attempt to flirt with astounding subtlety. "Really? I wonder how you survived," she said, "I don't know but when I was there it looked pretty tame."
"Did you just so happen to walk by or take a peek at the kitchen?" Xena asked her with a smug yet minute smile.
"Hmm, no, but I have a feeling that you're going to tell me that the kitchen is where the madness is made... am I close?" Gabrielle knew she was right but she just wanted to know what Xena would say.
"On the dot, actually," Xena confirmed Gabrielle's question. Then they were both quiet. It felt uncomfortable so Xena bumped shoulders with Gabrielle and said jokingly, "how'd you get so smart?" That was a rhetorical question but it was better than remaining quiet.
With adoring, green eyes she looked in Xena's blue ones and said, "I've been around." That was a risky thing to say because it has so many different implications. She couldn't decide if she said that for the purpose of innuendo or of letting Xena know that she was experienced in general.
Xena was about to open her mouth to say something but she could hear Iole arguing with a vendor.
"Let's go see what she's gotten herself into," Xena said to Gabrielle and then they both walked over to Iole.
"So what's all this about? You're not giving the girl a hard time are you?" Xena stood tall and glared at the man.
"More like the other way around. She's quite the harasser!" The man was frustrated. You could tell because his face was red yet the weather was fairly nice so he wouldn't be able to blame it on the heat.
"Iole?" Xena arched an eye brow but she also sensed that Gabrielle was looking at her intently.
"What? You're really going to believe this man that you don't even know? Come on, Xena. Help me out here," Iole pleaded calmly with a hint of aggression.
"What happened?" Asked Gabrielle.
"Won't make a deal with me," Iole said simply and crossed her arms.
Gabrielle whispered into Iole's ear: "I'll handle this."
Three minutes later...
The three of them walked away from the vendor Iole was having a situation with. Gabrielle managed to get whatever it was Iole was after out of the man.
Xena and Iole thought it was incredibly impressive of Gabrielle. Although she was kind and such to everyone else, she was also quite the showman and used it to her advantage. A showman being cross, more like it.
This interested Xena. She thought it was skillful what Gabrielle did. She considered asking Gabrielle later on how she did that. Xena believed it would be a good skill to have, but she didn't think of just keeping Gabrielle around... yet.
They had reached the fountain Gabrielle had sat down at the night before. On the other side of the fountain two men stood in front of each other. Their conversation crescendoed into yelling. Then into shoving of shoulders. Then a connection of a fist and a jaw. Xena ran over to them and naturally, to Gabrielle, Gabrielle followed behind. As they got closer the man who punched his friend first took a knife from his boot and was ready to inject it into his friend.
Faster than a bolt of lightning, Gabrielle already had a sai out of her boot and skillfully knocked the knife out of the man's hand.
"Holy shit!" Both men exclaimed and looked at Gabrielle who had her other sai ready in hand.
It was like they were thinking the same thing because both men went after Gabrielle.
Xena pulled out a short sword, not the regular sword Gabrielle was used to. This sword was usually given to guards and hoplites and what not.
Iole stayed back behind the fountain. She wanted to go get help but she knew it wasn't necessary. It wasn't necessary because she knew Xena and Xena was the best help anyone could get, but of course not everyone knew that.
"Damn you, lady! What the fuck?!" The man yelled.
"Damn me? You had a knife raised at your friend! That doesn't look good no matter what!" Gabrielle let go of the man's shirt.
"You wanna tell us what was going on here?" Xena asked cooly and pretended to be unphased by Gabrielle's sick moves.
The shorter man who was about to be stabbed by his taller companion spoke first, "this bonehead thinks I slept with his sister."
"He did and I know it!" The other man fiercely stated.
Gabrielle looked to the short man with a sort of mirth and said, "well... did you?" From behind, she could also sense that Iole had caught up with them.
A beautiful woman asked the short man a question, he was verbally unresponsive but physically his blushed face gave him up.
Gabrielle nodded then she filed through her mind to discover a solution for the current situation. Not a damn thing.
Xena studied Gabrielle's face and saw that she was thinking. Gabrielle had a thinking face and the older Xena she was so comfortable with thought it was adorable.
This younger Xena thought it was too.
Gabrielle caught Xena looking at her in a way she was quite familiar with. Her face read: would you like to? Albeit she appreciated what she caught she brushed it off but she knew she'd look back on it later. Now was a time for anything but what Xena's face was insinuating.
"Any ideas, Xena?" Gabrielle prompted her.
Xena body language said: maybe, maybe not in a teasing sort of way. In a friendly tone, "Yes. Let's start with you big guy, what's your name?"
After dinner...
Gabrielle stood at the balcony and looked down at and over Athens. Since her hands rested on the wooden railing her back arched a little. There was a soft wind the rolled on by that lightly brushed her short hair to the right.
If someone asked her how she was feeling at that very moment she would lie and say: "I'm fine."
If Xena asked her how she was feeling at that very moment she would be honest and say: "I feel lonely and I miss you and I miss being able touching you and I miss Argo and I miss traveling back to Amphipolis and staying with you at the inn and I miss your mother and just being alone with you."
"Who am I kidding?" Gabrielle hung her head low, "I bet not one person would ask."
"Ask what?" said someone with a smoky feminine voice.
To Gabrielle that voice was so sweet that it could remove her from her own two foot deep pit of despair. What I wouldn't give to hear you say that you love me once more. She turned around but her hands remained on the rickety wooden rail.
"Oh, nothing. It's not important." Gabrielle pathetically smiled and returned to the view in front of her.
"Mind if I join you?" Xena asked kindly.
"Not at all," Gabrielle answered truly.
Xena was good at making observations and could see that Gabrielle had her eye on something. "Got your sights on anything in particular?"
That was something her Xena would say and it made her smile. "Someone forgot to lock up their chicken coop." She pointed down at the said chickens.
"Or maybe they've been plotting and finally escaped," Xena tried to joke.
Gabrielle was getting a little more comfortable around this Xena. "Or perhaps these chickens are nocturnal and become smarter at night."
Right after that was said a chicken could be seen and heard falling into a water trough.
"Nevermind." Gabrielle said with a sigh then she and Xena looked at each other.
It seemed like they were trying to contain their laughter but they both quickly failed.
Once their laughter subsided Xena had a thought based on their morning at the market.
"This morning, Gabrielle, how'd you do that? How'd you act so quickly?" Xena asked.
You taught me, she wanted to say but instead replied: "I've done a lot of traveling and picked up some things here and there."
Xena nodded and continued, "And those... thingies," She pointed down to the weapons strapped to Gabrielle's boots, "what do you call those?"
"They're called sais." Gabrielle bent down to retrieve her favored weapon and couldn't help but notice Xena glancing at her backside. This is my Xena alright. She smiled as she handed a sai to the beautiful woman.
My Xena.
