Days pass with Gabrielle on the edge of a cliff that decides if she lives or dies. I give her herbs to help her sleep, but mother is the one who watches over her. The Persian invasion is imminent, I can feel it down in my bones. I push my men harder and harder every day. Messengers ferry news and orders throughout the countryside daily.
"If anyone can stop them it's you." My mother assures me one night before she retires to bed. "I believe in you." She squeezes my arm before walking away. Staring out at the dark landscape before me, I can't help but wonder if her faith is misplaced. The air around me tingles.
"What do you want?" I'm too tired to even care as Ares appears at my side.
"Aren't you excited?!" His lips curl in some sort of smile. "This is what we live for." He leans his body against mine. "Come on." He licks his lips as his face comes perilously close. "Let's have some pre-battle fun." I crack my neck, holding back my overwhelming need to punch him.
"Those days are long gone, Ares." My hands grip hard at the edge of the wall, turning my knuckles white. His eyes shift towards the open doorway of my room.
"It's not...her is it?" He snarls.
"Oh, it's all you." I move away from the obnoxious God. He laughs mirthlessly.
"Come on Xena, you're better than this." Ares points in her direction. "I mean, she's not even a warrior." He looks at me disgusted.
"I'm not that person anymore." He shakes his head.
"Oh, you are, you're just trying to pretend things have changed." Ares moves in close, looking me up and down. "Deep down you know you can't change. That's why I chose you. You love the battle more than I do." He moves toward the open doorway. "I can take care of this little problem right now." Without hesitation, I grab him by his arm, yanking him backward before planting my elbow into his face.
"Are you serious?" He glares at me.
"Leave her alone Ares." I pull my sword from its sheath on my back. Rubbing his jaw, Ares just shakes his head.
"You'll get tired of her soon enough." With a flash, he disappears. If I'm honest with myself, I know he's right. Once the battle starts I get lost in lust and power. The beast inside takes control and I let it. A cough from my chambers brings me back from the ghosts that haunt me.
"Gabrielle?" I quickly move to her bedside.
"I think you look worse than I feel." She coughs again, attempting to smile through the pain. This brings a genuine smile to my lips.
"Well, I'm not the one who gets to lay in bed all day." She laughs, then winces.
"What's wrong?" She squints her eyes a little.
"I've been worried about you."
"Xena." She says my name with a hint of scolding.
"How do you do that?" My eyebrow arches at her.
"Do what?" She smiles but seems genuinely confused.
"You are the only person who can see through me. It's as if we've known each other for years." It's unnerving if I'm honest.
"I just know." Her eyes fall closed for a minute, obviously exhausted.
"You should sleep." I move to leave her.
"Isn't that what I've been doing?" Gabrielle grabs my hand in hers, looking at me pleadingly. " Don't leave me."
I only hesitate a moment before I get into the bed next to her, letting her lay her head on my chest. Wrapping my arms around her I'm realizing how comfortable this is. I don't care what she looks like right now, I just care that she's alive, that I can feel her heartbeat, her warmth. This renews my conviction to win at all costs.
XXXXXXXXX
My eyes open slowly as the sun beckons me to wake. The sound of a heart beats against my ear, and I remember falling asleep in her arms. My body feels mangled, and breathing takes more thought than it should. I'm so stupid, so nieve. Here I am, supposed to be an Amazon princess, If they only knew I was brought down by a cliffside.
"You sound better than yesterday." Her voice is gritty with sleep and it lulls me into a sense of security I've rarely felt.
"I barely remember yesterday." I don't remember much since I fell, if I'm honest.
"What hurts?" Xena's voice is so soft I don't want to move, I want to stay here. Xena has other ideas as she tries to sit me up.
"Everything." I wince and groan as my body moves. "God's what did I do?"
"Do you really want to know?" She moves off the bed, crouching down next to it. The smile on her face can brighten the darkest night.
"I don't think so." I already know that things are broken and bruised and basically I look like I've been run over by Hades himself. "Thank you." I'm not sure I could ever thank her enough. The back of her hand graces my cheek in the softest touch. Then she lets out a big sigh and stands.
"I wish I could stay." Her face turns dark and troubled.
"What is it?"
"War." Her eyes shine with darkness I've never seen in anyone.
"Xena…." What do I even say?
"I shouldn't want to stay." Suddenly I realize her turmoil is not with any battle ahead but with me.
"I'm….I'm sorry." She looks as if she is about to say something but a knock on the door stops her.
"What!" She growls. Alexius steps in with a slight bow.
"Lord Conqueror, you're needed urgently." Xena issues curses under her breath as she follows him out the door. I'm left in the wake of her foul mood. After a while, Xena's mother Cyrene enters the room. She's a different person from the woman we left at the tavern that day.
"You look better." Cyrene says sweetly, handing me a mug of broth. I sip the amber liquid slowly, enjoying the feel of its heat slipping down my parched throat.
"Thank you." Worry creases the corners of her eyes, and I wonder if it's because her daughter is headed off to war. "Are you worried about her?"
"Right now I'm more worried about you dear." She gently moves a few strands of hair from my face. "As long as we get you healthy, Xena can focus on what she needs to do." It feels odd that the conqueror should worry about me.
"I don't think I'm that important." I say as I drink more of the broth. Cyrene laughs dismissively at me.
"She has barely left your side." I can't bring myself to look her in the eyes so I stare at the mug in my hands.
"Why?" I can't seem to believe that I would be that important to anyone, least of all her. But she is that important to me already, she was that important the minute I saw her.
"Don't be so naive." Cyrene scoffs at me. Just then the door nearly slams open, admitting Xena in her finest armor. She looks intimidating and gorgeous with danger seeping from her pores.
"I'll have to leave right away." She's focusing on her mother, but her eyes keep darting in my direction. "Promise to stay here. I have a unit here to guard you, if anything should happen they will take you somewhere safe." She leans in, putting her hands on her mother's forearms.
"Of course." Cyrene sighs. "Please be safe." She pulls Xena into a hug before leaving the room, wiping tears from her cheeks as she goes. Our eyes meet and the world turns still.
"Gabrielle." Her fingers rake through her hair as her face becomes clouded with thought. Finally, she comes and sits on the edge of the bed, taking the mug from my hands and sitting it on a table. Her hand slides up my cheek and I lean into its warmth, falling into the feeling of comfort it brings. Lips softly touch mine, not seeming to care about the dryness found there. Her tongue licks before my lips part, welcoming it into my mouth. A soft caress of exploration of tongue against tongue begins and my breath is lost to the process. And then she stops, her forehead falling against mine as our breath mingles and we come down from our temporary high.
"I had to do that." She whispers, and it makes me feel like it's goodbye.
"You'll be back." It's a statement not a question. I refuse to doubt. For a few minutes there is nothing but the sound of our breathing.
"I have something to come back for." This must be so hard for her to admit because she immediately gets up and turns for the door. "Stay away from cliffs." She says and is out the door.
