Gabrielle was terrified. It didn't happen often that she was this terrified. Afraid, yes. Troubled, yes. But right now, she was terrified. In fact, she was so scared, terrified didn't even begin to cover it. Her hands were tied behind her back to a stake, and archers were lined up in front of her, ready to shoot their arrows. Not just archers, executioners. She looked towards the side of the square where her best friend stood, watching. She knew it was Xena. Not a hate-crazed Xena, not Meg or Diana or Lea -- Xena. She tried to talk. "Xena, please." She begged. But the gag in her mouth prevented her from speaking the words aloud. Xena understood her, though. Gabrielle looked at the warrior, tears filling her eyes, knowing that the arrows would come soon. Xena looked her straight in the eye, and with dread in her heart, shook her head.
Two days ago…
"I just want you to know that I didn't think knocking him out was necessary. That's all." Gabrielle looked back at her friend and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I read him wrong. He just seemed like the type that, if you had just hit him once, say, then he would have gotten scared and left us alone."
Xena caught up with Gabrielle and handed her Argo's reins while she stretched. "Gabrielle, he had a knife."
The girl looked up from inspecting her hands. "Oh. I didn't see that."
Xena smiled and took back the reins. "That's why I fight and you talk. Don't worry about him, though. He'll be fine in about two days. Who knows, he might not even remember us." She raised her eyebrows and winked at the bard.
"I don't think he'd want to remember us. Is that the town?" She nodded at the fortress looming in the distance.
Xena nodded. "It should be." She looked down at the hastily drawn map that rested in her hands. "Unless I'm reading this thing wrong," she clarified.
"I'll bet it is. Here, let me see." Gabrielle snatched the parchment from her friend's arms and examined it. "Well, for one thing, you're holding it upside down." She flipped it over and turned to the side, lining up the directions. "But you're right anyway. That is the town." Gabrielle handed the map back to Xena and smiled. It was fun to be right, just once in a while.
Xena took the map back and rolled her eyes in a, Well-I-knew-that, kind of way, and swung her arm towards the town. "Lead the way, oh Great Map Reader."
Gabrielle slung her pack back onto her shoulder and stepped in front of her friend on the narrow path. "Don't mind if I do." She trotted a little way, then waited for the warrior to catch up. Xena just rolled her eyes again and followed with a sigh.
"So," Gabrielle sighed, "this is Lixia. Nice town, really. A little big, but hey, that's just the everyone-should-know-everyone-and-practically-all-be-in-the-same-family-because-there-are-only-forty-people-in-your-town-anyway side of me. I like it, really." She looked theatrically back at Xena as she babbled, hoping for at least a small reply. Not that one was forth coming. "So. Where should I wait for you to find your friend? Unless you want me to tag along."
Xena shook her head. "No, he's really shy. I'll have to try to find him on my own. You see that inn over there? Wait for me inside. Here." She threw a pouch full of dinars at the unsuspecting bard, and watched as Gabrielle bent down to pick it up after failing to catch it. "Try to get us a room. It would be nice to sleep in a bed, just tonight. Yesterday was exhausting. It's not every day that we don't have to fight anybody. It was just one of those days, you know?" She smiled. "Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes. Either I will find him by then, or he's not here. Either way, I have a surprise for you." Xena reached into one of Argo's saddlebags and pulled out a little pouch. She threw it a Gabrielle and waited.
Gabrielle opened up the small leather bag and took out two slips of parchment. "Oh, Xena, you didn't! But you did. How wonderful! Thank you. I have always wanted to see Inacholes and Cleaodiar. It was one of my favorite plays to read. You mean it's playing here? Tonight?"
"Yes, Gabrielle. I thought you'd like those. As long as you don't ask how I got them, they're yours. We can go together. I'm looking forward to it."
Gabrielle ran up and hugged Xena with all her strength, and the warrior hugged her back. "I'll see you once I've looked for my friend. Bye."
"Bye, I'll just stay here…" but Xena was already gone.
Gabrielle walked into the inn and sat at one of the tables, hoping to get some food. Then, changing her mind, she stood up again and walked over to the desk where she was fairly certain she could get a room. She picked up the little silver bell and rang it once.
"Hello, is anybody in there? I just want a room for a night." She called through the hanging curtain. A round, cheery woman came through it and silenced the still ringing bell.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I was looking for a room for one night, for a friend and me. Do you have one?"
The women picked up a scroll and read through the list. "Yes. I have one that overlooks the city, and one that faces the river. Which is your fancy?" She looked inquiringly at Gabrielle.
Gabrielle almost replied, "The river," for that's what she was used to, and it was much prettier, but then she stopped. One on hand, Xena would want to do what Gabrielle wanted to do, but she would be secretly worried if Gabrielle chose the room in the back. She would want one in the front, where any attack would come from the front. It would be a much safer position. "I'll have the room facing the town." I'll just go back and look at the river. How about that, hmm, Xena?
The women gave a confused look at the bemused expression on the bard's face and handed her a heavy iron key. "This will open the bottom lock," she said, and gave her another, "And this will open the one on the top. If you wanted to look out the window, these two open the shutters." The innkeeper shoved two more keys into Gabrielle's hands.
Gabrielle stared down at the four keys and managed a weak smile. "Well… I'm sure that, uh, I will be very secure. Thanks. I guess."
"I know it looks like a lot, miss, but there have been some murders around here lately. Can't be too careful."
"Uh…right." Gabrielle agreed, shifting her glance to one of two doors that led out of the little dining hall. "Is that the way?"
"Yes, miss. But before you go, I'll need ten dinars: five for you, and five for your friend."
"Oh, right." Gabrielle absentmindedly counted out ten dinars and took her pack up the stairs to the room the woman led her to.
The Bard of Poteidia walked in to the little chamber and dumped her few supplies on the bed. She took the two smaller keys, the ones that opened the shutters, and tried them in the two locks. Finally, after several failed attempts, she managed to put them into the right locks and turned them just right.
"Well, this certainly wasn't worth the effort," she mumbled to herself. She stared out the window and into a wall that was about three feet away. "Oh well, we're not here for the scenery." Gabrielle went over to the bed and dropped down on top of it. It would be nice to sleep in something this soft. It had been a while. She pulled the pouch of dinars towards her. Opening the pack, she counted out the seven that were left. Maybe there were enough for a small lunch to share with Xena.
Gabrielle slowly walked down the narrow staircase leading back to the dining hall, admiring the woodwork. There was a lovely painting that looked vaguely like Hercules hanging on one side, and a gory depiction of the Battle of Troy hanging on the other. For a moment, she stopped and tried to see if Perdicus was there, but she realized almost instantly that the painter had only heard about Troy, not seen it. As she continued down the stairs she noticed some nicks and dents on the wall. She was sure that Xena would have noticed them on the way up, but she was proud of seeing them on the way down. It looked like there had been a struggle here, and, from the looks of things, fairly recently. Oh well.
The dining hall was more crowded than the last time she had seen it, but there were still only two tables filled. Gabrielle seated herself and looked at the various displays of what there was to eat. Some kind of bread over there, a beef… something over there, and some good, safe trout. Gabrielle squinted her eyes to see the price on it. One for four dinars, two for seven. Perfect. She caught the eye of one of the people waiting tables and waved him over. "Could I have two trout, please?" She asked nicely.
"Yeah, hold on. I'll get it for you in just a second." The man went behind the desk, through the curtain and in a few minutes, came out again with two, fat juicy trout.
"Thank you." Gabrielle handed him seven dinars and took the steaming platter up the stairs to her room. She sat on the bed and ate one fish, trying to figure out what was taking Xena so long.
"Wow, Xena, thanks for coming right back." Gabrielle went over to the window and tried to lean out far enough to see the sun to find out how long her friend had been gone. No such luck. She rolled her eyes and sat back on the bed. The other trout looked wonderful, but Gabrielle wouldn't eat it. It belonged to Xena. Oh, but it would be cold by the time Xena ate it… No. No, no, no. Xena's, she kept reminding herself. Gabrielle looked out the window again. When would she be back? This must be some meeting with a friend.
Fine, well, Xena, I'm just going to go look at the river that you didn't want to look at, okay? I'll just come back later, Gabrielle mused to herself. She took one last look at the delicious, steaming fish and walked towards the door. She opened it, hearing its hinges squeak. Well, I guess they don't oil them much. Gabrielle was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread. No, it was probably just her annoyance with the door, or with Xena, or with something. Gabrielle stomped down the stairs and out the door. She thought she saw Xena, walking along, talking to herself, but she decided that even if it were Xena, she didn't deserve to deal with Gabrielle in this kind of mood.
I'll see you, after the river. Then to the play. All right, Xena?
The river was beautiful. Gabrielle looked at it and sighed. She liked how it trickled gently down a small waterfall. It was actually more of a slide than a waterfall, really. If she shrank and was floating on a leaf, she actually wouldn't mind --
"Help!" A young girl ran as fast as she could into the clearing. Tears were streaming down her face. She was obviously very scared. She screamed and was soon followed by a woman, frantically trying to keep the young son holding her hand from falling.
"What?" Gabrielle asked, and then she looked behind them. Coming up fast was a man with a crossbow. Gabrielle suddenly longed for her staff, the one she had left in the room she was to share with Xena. Instead, she stepped determinedly in front of the man. She wasn't about to let him kill women and children. "Stop," she said. The simple try-asking-nicely didn't usually work, but it was worth a shot. Needless to say, he kept going. Gabrielle frantically searched for a log, or a stick, or a — She heard the twang of the crossbow as the arrow got shot. She grabbed the nearest stick and tried to knock the arrow from the air. But she missed. As it hissed by, Gabrielle heard it land with a sickening ssssss as it hit the young boy. At least he didn't feel any pain. With a cry she lunged even more determinedly at the attacker. Everything slowed down as she flew through the air. His hand grabbed an arrow and aligned it in the crossbow. This can't be happening… she thought frantically. I have to stop him from killing the rest… there was another twang, and the next arrow was released. The woman fell. Gabrielle's eyes started to sting, but she impatiently blinked the unshed tears back. She didn't have time right now. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had one more chance. Please… She offered up a silent prayer to whoever was listening. She desperately swung the twig, trying to do… something. She didn't know exactly what. Knock the bow from his hands, hit him hard enough that he would be unconscious, anything. Ping.
"No…" She breathed. "It can't be." A little louder. "It can't be!" She screamed.
The attacker turned towards her, as if noticing her for the first time. He reached for the pouch he was carrying, trying to pull out an arrow. He was empty. Gabrielle started to go at him with her little switch. He dropped the crossbow and turned and ran. The bard had just picked up the crossbow, ready to break it in half, when a villager came running up.
"Please, the man that did this just ran off that way," she pointed the way he had just gone as she stumbled over the words. "I don't think that they're going to make it—" She followed his gaze to the hand resting by her side. Where she was holding the crossbow. Gabrielle felt the weapon drop from her hand as the blood rushed to her face. "Wait, you think—you think that I did this? No." She almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "No. I was trying to save them." The rest of the villagers started to gather around. She heard a shriek as a woman pushed her way to the front of the crowd.
"Isila!" She wailed. The poor mother rushed to the young girl's side. "Wake up! Please, wake up!" She sobbed, shaking her daughter. "Please, wake up." She whispered.
Gabrielle's breath caught in her throat. She knelt by the woman. "I'm so sorry. I tried to--" The woman's cold stare cut her off.
"You killed her." Her voice rose hysterically. "She killed her! Arrest her! She killed my daughter."
"No." Gabrielle shook her head desperately. Her hands were pulled behind her back and tied with strong rope. "Xena!" she called. She had seen her friend back there, hadn't she? "Xena!" Just then she caught a glance of the little boy. No one had touched him where he lay. There was blood all over what was left of his tunic. She swallowed hard and allowed herself to be dragged off. Maybe once they were out on the street, she could catch a glance of the man that did this. She would make him pay.
Her hands were uncomfortable. Her arms were starting to go numb, and no matter how she situated herself, she couldn't keep from either sitting on her hands or almost pulling one arm out of its socket. Gabrielle finally decided that it was pointless and resigned herself to be in pain until the trial. She had tried pulling her hands out of the bindings, but found the task useless; the man who tied her did a very good job.
It was a rather warm day, and the sun beating down on the jail cell made the heat almost unbearable. That was all right, though, because soon she would have her trial, and the people would find out that this had all been some kind of mistake.
"Could someone hang a cloth over this window, please?" she called to the guard. "I'm going to burn up before the trial even starts."
The guard continued to look forward, not even bothering to give her a response. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and tried again to get out of the direct path of the sun. Once again, it didn't work. She could hardly wait for the trial to start.
"Hey, you! You're to report to the House of Justice immediately."
The cry woke Gabrielle from a restless, dreamless sleep that she had been submerged in by the heat. She stood and tried to stretch her arms and legs. The runner from the judge opened the bars and roughly pulled her out. He shoved her outside and almost dragged her across town.
Gabrielle looked warily at the sun. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked.
"Since yesterday." Was the short reply. She waited for him to say more, but he didn't.
Just then she caught a glance of Xena. The warrior was following the crowd into The House of Justice. "Xena!" Gabrielle cried.
Her escort turned once again towards her. "Shut up." He produced a knife and pointed it threateningly at her. She hastily nodded her understanding. No one would complain about the murder of a murderer.
At least it was cool in the courtroom. Two people stood by the door, fanning those who walked in. The fact that they stopped as Gabrielle approached and continued on the next person did nothing to help her mood, though. She was ushered to the front left-hand side of the room and sat down. She turned and looked through the crowd until she found who she was looking for. She caught the eye of her friend and mouthed her name. Xena looked at her sadly and obviously knew whom she was talking to.
Come up here, Gabrielle mouthed. Come help me.
I can't, Xena mouthed back.
Why not?
The warrior remained where she was, and found sudden fascination with one of her boot ties. Please…she tried again. The man who had brought her in nudged her painfully in the ribs.
"Turn around." He hissed, as if talking to a young child in a temple service. "The judge should be here soon."
Gabrielle sighed to herself and faced the front of the room. Why wasn't Xena helping her? Why wasn't her friend up here, fighting in her defense?
The judge came in holding a piece of parchment. He was an old man, tired from many years of making too many decisions. But there was a kindness in his eyes. Gabrielle suddenly felt better. She was sure that this would at least be a fair trial.
He cleared his throat. "Young lady," he said, addressing Gabrielle, "please stand up." Gabrielle stood. " Now, I am sure you don't know my name, and I don't know yours. I am Judge Stopolis. Can anyone here tell me this child's name?" he asked the crowd. Xena didn't say anything. "Very well, since it is obvious that you are very much a stranger, I will allow you to tell me your name. Take heed, though, that is your true one. If your luck runs out before this trial ends, it is the name we will be sending back to your family."
Gabrielle almost said that her family was sitting in the audience, but realized that if she were to stay on the judge's good side, she would have to be an obedient, misunderstood girl, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. She summoned up all the stories of girls very much like that that she had been told when she was young and said meekly, "Gabrielle…sir."
"Gabrielle. Well, Gabrielle, it seems that you are accused of murder. What do you say to those charges?"
The Bard of Poteidia (she reminded herself…) stood at her full height, looked the judge squarely in the eye and said, "Not guilty."
"Hmmm," Judge Stopolis said thoughtfully. "But not innocent?"
Gabrielle slumped a little. She wasn't going to lie. "I am innocent of the crime of which I have been accused," she clarified.
"That's not what I asked, child."
Now she hung her head. This was a painful topic, even now. "No, not innocent."
The crowd gasped as they heard her confession.
The judge nodded once. "Silence. Now. Anyone who has anything to say about this case, come forward now or forever hold your peace." He paused and then looked towards Gabrielle. "Sit down, child."
Gabrielle watched as the woman whose daughter had been killed walked to the front of the room.
"I was sitting, working on my knitting, when -- "
"When were you doing this?" the judge interrupted.
"Yesterday morning. Anyway, I heard a scream. A mother can always tell the scream of her child, Stopolis. For a moment I thought she was just playing." Here the woman's voice caught in her throat, "If only she had been playing," she said quietly as she started to cry. "But then she screamed again. My little Isila. I ran as fast as I could, I tried to get to her… I got down by the river, but I was too late. And she," the woman turned and stared menacingly at Gabrielle, "was holding the crossbow that killed her."
Gabrielle couldn't even see the woman; her eyes were full of tears.
"Gabrielle," the judge said gently, "do you have any questions or anything to say to this woman?"
She took a deep breath and steadied her frayed nerves before she stood.
"Did you see me hurt your daughter?"
The woman looked up. "No. I already said that. You did it before I got there."
Gabrielle tried to stretch her arms; they were sore and numb. Besides that, she felt like an idiot standing in front of an entire village tied up. "I'm really sorry about Isila," she mumbled, and sat back down.
"Don't you even speak her name," the woman said through her tears, and walked out of the courtroom. She had seen enough.
The man who had caught Gabrielle was up next. He came to the front of the room and said what he had seen. Gabrielle didn't have any questions; she was still dwelling on the poor mother's last remark, so he went and sat back down.
"Will anyone speak for this child?" the judge asked. Gabrielle imagined she heard Xena squirming in her chair, but no one spoke. "Now, Gabrielle," Judge Stopolis said, "as you have no one here to defend you, you may tell the court your version of the story, and then I will decide the verdict."
Gabrielle slowly rose to her feet and cleared her throat. "I, uh…" she took a breath and started again. Come on, gabby Gabby, you can do this. You can do anything, remember? "I came into town yesterday, with a friend of mine. I don't know why she's not here, but I'm sure she has a good reason." Gabrielle was looking at the judge, which was too bad because she would have really liked to see Xena's face at the moment.
"I went back to look at the river while I was waiting for her. I envy you all; you have a very beautiful river. I heard a scream and turned to see Isi—a girl run up. She was followed by a woman and who I assume to be her son. Then came a man with a crossbow. I can fight, Your Honor. If you don't believe me, I have a staff in my room at the inn. However, I didn't think I would need it when I went down to the river and so I left it there. So when this man came, I tried to find a stick that I could use as a staff. The best I could do is a twig. The man let one arrow go before I could stop him. I have a friend who can catch arrows midair; unfortunately, I'm not that good yet." Another longing to turn around and look at Xena.
She had heard her best friend say many times that catching arrows wasn't as important as some things, and those things, Gabrielle did better than anyone. To this Gabrielle had retorted that that didn't matter when someone was shooting at you with an arrow. Xena had smiled and replied that that was what she was there for. Gabrielle forced her thoughts to return to the courtroom.
"I tried to stop the man from killing any of them, Your Honor. I still feel awful that I couldn't save them. The reason I was holding the crossbow was so that I could break it in half. There was nothing I could do for those people." She sat down, utterly defeated. There was nothing she could have done… and yet… don't you even speak her name… she was lost. It didn't matter what the verdict was. She would never forgive herself anyway.
It was three hours later. The judge had consulted with the other elders of the city. Finally they had reached an agreement and Gabrielle had been ushered back into the courtroom.
"Stand, Little Gabrielle." The judge looked down at her. His eyes were colder than before. "What is your village, Gabrielle?"
She gulped. This didn't sound good. "Poteidia."
"And the friend you spoke of, is she in this town?"
"Yes. Her name is Xena."
The Judge nodded and jotted something on his parchment. "Is there anything that you would like to say before the verdict is pronounced?"
"I want you to know that if you condemn me, you are condemning an innocent person," she said defiantly.
"But you already said that you were not innocent," the judge replied.
"I am innocent of this crime."
"Of what are you not innocent, Little Gabrielle?"
She kept staring straight ahead.
"It doesn't matter anyway." The judge concluded after a moment of silence. "On the charge of the murder of Isila, and of Jonan and his mother, Damila, this court finds you guilty as charged—you are to be taken from this place and executed tomorrow at noon, death by arrows." He looked away, as if ashamed of the verdict.
Gabrielle looked down at her feet. How does it feel now, Xena? Is this what you wanted? She allowed herself to be dragged away; this time, though, the numbness she was feeling had nothing to do with her bonds.
It was cold. There wasn't a fire burning it the jail. Actually, Gabrielle was glad for that. With all the hay strewn about on the floor, if there was a fire burning, it would probably be burning her alive. At least they had finally untied her hands.
Gabrielle heard footsteps behind her. She spun around to greet the person crazy enough to talk to a "murderer" at night. But it wasn't one of the villagers here to torment her. It was Xena.
The bard shook her head in sadness. "Why, Xena?" She took a breath. "Why didn't you defend me? Why wouldn't you help me?" She walked up to the bars of the cell and wrapped her fingers around two of them. "I know it must have been something important. It had to be. Otherwise you would have helped me. I have faith that it was really important. So what was it?" She felt her eyes begin to sting.
Xena stared at her in silence.
Now Gabrielle was beginning to cry. "Why won't you talk to me? Please, Xena. I'll forgive you, even if it wasn't important. I promise. Just tell me. And help me out of here. Please, Xena?" Now she was sobbing. She stared at her friend and waited for a reply. None came. "Then go. I don't need to spend my last night sobbing for your amusement, or for your enjoyment, or why ever it is that you're here. Just leave! And never come back."
Gabrielle turned her back to the bars and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't stop crying. She heard the footsteps behind her slowly receding. Gabrielle brushed a wisp of hair out of her face and her finger touched one braid. She felt something other than hair, a small chain.
"Wait, Xena. Please! Come back! Don't leave." The footsteps stopped, then came back. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't mean that." She managed through her tears. Gabrielle turned to face the warrior. "Do you remember that necklace you gave me?" She pulled on the little chain she kept wrapped around her braid. "I always keep it with me. To remind me of you, I guess." The gold chain came loose, to reveal a beautiful, shady green stone, set in a simple twist of gold. "You said it matched my eyes." She giggled a little, just making the tears come out harder. With one hand she attempted to wipe away the endless stream pouring forth from her eyes.
She took in a shuddering breath before she continued. "I gave myself one wish with this necklace. One wish, that was sure to come true. On the power of our friendship. I knew that I would know, when I saw the need for it. I've had to watch you die; I've thought I would die myself, but I never thought of this wish. But this, this is worth my wish. I don't think that our friendship could survive this. Could survive you standing by and watching me die for something I didn't do.
"So I call upon the power of our friendship to make it survive this. And if I or both of us or, Gods forbid, you have to die to fulfill it, so be it. I lay this on our friendship, and because I am behind bars, I lay it on you. You have the power to make it come true, and you know it." She could barely speak; the tears were coming so hard. "Let our friendship survive this, because it is what holds my world together, and, in some small way, I think it is what holds the world together. So make this turn out all right, Xena. Please."
She swallowed and tried to hold back her tears. "I'm glad you came tonight. I'm glad I got to talk to you. You're my world, Xena. I'm glad I got to see you, one last time… It must be a pretty good reason. Here. Take this." She held out the necklace. "Make my wish come true. I love you…"
Xena reached out and took the necklace just as the prison guard came in. "Come on. Time's up." He roughly pulled a rather stunned Xena out of the small room.
"…Xena." Gabrielle whispered gently, before slumping onto the floor and giving herself away to the sobbing. Her world felt like it was crumbling around her.
She was lost. It was one of those things that could be expected. Her best friend had betrayed her. Maybe. Maybe Xena couldn't tell her what was wrong. Maybe Xena couldn't… talk? Of course she could. But there had to be a reason. Gabrielle assured herself that there had to be a reason. A good reason. A really good reason. Otherwise, why would Xena be doing this?
"Why Xena?" she screamed. No one heard her. The jail was far from the population, but she wasn't pleading to the population. "Why?" She stood up and jumped, reaching for the bared window. She was getting hysterical. "Please, show me that my wish will come true." Gabrielle wasn't quite sure at whom she directed that. She jumped again, this time, catching the bars. She pulled herself up and glared out the window. Her breath caught in her throat. Out in the moonlight, gleaming as if covered in a fresh rain, stood a pure white horse. But it wasn't a normal horse. It had a single silver horn spiraling out of the middle of its forehead. The uni-horned horse looked at her and stared into her eyes. Don't worry, little one, it will be all right…
Gabrielle's arms gave way and she collapsed into an exhausted heap on the floor.
Gabrielle glanced at the people seated around what looked like the remains of a campfire. On her left was Joxer, across from her sat Autolycus; Ioles and Hercules were to her right, and Xena sat directly to her right on the log with her.
"The loser has to collect firewood and dig the firepit till we all split up." Autolycus stated. Gabrielle glance down at the small pieces of parchment she held in her hands. They had red and black dots all over them, but different numbers. Heart, diamonds, shamrocks and… something. At any rate, it was evident that she was losing.
"So, if a team loses, does the team have to collect firewood, or just the sidekick?" Ioles asked, appraising the score scribbled in the dirt. Apparently, after Xena and Gabrielle came Hercules and Ioles.
"I don't know, Ioles." Hercules looked at the cards in the smaller man's hands and almost smiled. "I think that you and Gabrielle over there are playing for us." He exchanged glances with Xena.
"But I always have to get the firewood." Gabrielle protested.
"Yeah but so do I, and Autolycus and Joxer." Ioles reminded her.
"Hey, that's right." Gabrielle looked once again at the group assembled before her. She had them beat in one way. "I'll make you a deal. If Hercules and Xena get the firewood, I'll cook."
All the men exchanged glances, then turned and looked imploringly at Xena.
Hercules lifted his eyebrows. "She is a much better cook than any of us, Xena. I'm sure that we could handle the fires for a few days."
Gabrielle knew she had won.
"All right, Gabrielle, have it your way." She smiled down. "I'll get my revenge, just you wait and see. I'll watch you die…"
Gabrielle woke with tears streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them away and sat up. Now was not the time.
Breakfast was gruel. Cold gruel. Gabrielle had complained loudly that she should at least have one last descent meal. Or, at least, she was complaining until the guard told her to shut up, the arrow didn't have to go through her heart, it could, say, go in her stomach where it would be a long and agonizing death instead of a short and relatively painless one.
After that she was quiet. Gabrielle had seen people die from stomach wounds. That was not how she was going to go; at least not in front of Xena. Xena…the words sliced through her mind like a lightning bolt. Had last night really happened? She reached up and fumbled around in her hair. The necklace wasn't there. So last night must have happened. But that horse… had she heard what she thought she had heard? All Gabrielle knew was that she woke up in an uncomfortable position on the floor.
Judge Stopolis walked in. "It's time." He said. He opened the door to the little cell and led Gabrielle out into the sunlight, where a stake had been pounded in the middle of the square, hungry for it's next victim. He tied her tightly to the pole and turned to people gathered to watch.
"Gabrielle of Poteidia." He stated. "She will die by arrows for the murder of Isila, Jonan and Damila. Any last words?"
Gabrielle searched the people for Xena. At last her eyes came to rest on the warrior—who was wearing her necklace-- and she almost lost her composer again. "I'm sorry I let you down. Or maybe it's you that let me down. Either way, I'm sorry." She spoke directly to the dark form standing sullenly amidst the crowd, but the judge eyed her curiously.
"Interesting last words." He took a cloth and tied it as a gag around her mouth. The judge glanced one last time into her eyes before he waved the archers into their line and stepped out of the way.
Gabrielle was terrified. It didn't happen often, that she was this terrified. Afraid, yes. Troubled, yes. But right now, she was terrified. In fact, she was so scared; terrified didn't even begin to cover it. She looked towards the side of the square, where her best friend stood, watching. She knew it was Xena. Not a hate crazed Xena, not Meg or Diana or Lea, Xena. She tried to talk. "Xena, please." She begged. But the gag in her mouth prevented her from speaking the words aloud. Xena understood her though. Gabrielle looked at the warrior, tears filling her eyes, knowing that the arrows would come soon. Xena looked her strait in the eye, and with dread in her heart, shook her head.
Two days ago…
Xena's arms were aching as she listened to her best friend babble about the last person they had fought. "Gabrielle, he had a knife," She reminded her. She handed the girl the reins and stretched. Why were her arms aching? It hadn't even been a fight worth the title. She had backhanded him once across the chin and he had gone out like a flame after it's been thrown into a river. Maybe it was this tension she had been feeling all morning. Like a feeling of dread, for no apparent reason. She reached for the reins and waited not too patiently while the bard took her time realizing she wanted them back. A few seconds later she snatched them anyway. Gabrielle hadn't seen the knife. Figures.
"That's why I fight and you talk. Don't worry about him, though. He'll be fine in about two days. Who knows, he might not even remember us." Although, you were babbling at him the whole fight. What were you saying? Something about not taking dinars from defenseless women. Not that we're exactly defenseless. I don't think he'll forget that. Far be it for anyone to forget one of your lectures.
"I don't think he'd want to remember us." The bard was saying. "Is that the town?"
"It should be, unless I'm reading this thing wrong." It was a poorly drawn map, she had to admit. Okay, okay, she had drawn it, but based on poorly given instructions. Right. Xena watched as her friend glanced over the map and turned it a few ways, claiming it had been upside down. It was the town, though. "Lead the way, oh great map reader." She said sardonically. Then she took Argo and led her after Gabrielle, all the while with that feeling of dread.
"So, this is Lixia. Nice town, really. A little big, but hey, that's just the everyone-should-know-everyone-and-practically-all-be-in-the-same-family-because-there-are-only-forty-people-in-your-town-anyway side of me. I like it, really. So. Where should I wait for you to find your friend? Unless you want me to tag along."
This I can see, Xena thought ruefully. Tyron is probably going to be scared enough just with me. I guess I don't have to mention to Gabrielle that he's not exactly a friend. "No, he's really shy." She said simply. She gave the girl directions to get a room and meet her in an inn. Then she got out the surprise she had been waiting for this moment to give her bard-friend since two weeks ago. She carefully concealed the grin she wanted to show and threw the tickets at Gabrielle, quietly enjoying the moment of pure delight. She even allowed herself to be hugged, and hug back. "I thought you'd like those. As long as you don't ask how I got them--" she paused almost imperceptibly as she considered the number of favors she had had to pull in to get the opening night front row tickets, and it was all worth the expression Gabrielle now wore-- "they're all yours. We can go together. I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you once I've looked for my, uh, friend." She turned smartly on her heel and walked silently off in the opposite direction. Now it was time for some fun.
"Now, if I were Tyron, and I knew my worst enemy were coming to make me apologize, just like she said she'd do all those years ago, where would I be hiding?" Xena actually already had seen her victim, and she knew he was cornered. She was just asking to scare him more. He deserved it, after scaring so many people. "Hmmm," she said, in mock thoughtfulness, "where could he be?" She ducked under a cart and pretended to look started when he wasn't there. Next, she sauntered over to a doorway and looked in both ways. "Nope. Not here." Just then she heard a rustle behind her, and, figuring he was about to flee, did a double back flip and landed right in front of where he sat crouched behind a buggy. The warrior leaned down and pulled him to his knees by one ear. "I told I'd get you one day." Her eyes were dancing with unmasked glee. This was fun.
"Now, Xena, I had heard that you weren't evil anymore. So you're promise doesn't stand."
She rolled her eyes at his idiocy. "Last time we met, Tyron, I wasn't evil anymore. You were just to stupid to notice. Look, someone once forced me to confront an entire village about my past, and it worked; I've never hurt innocent people since." True, it was Callisto, and I hadn't hurt innocents for two years before that, either, but that's beside the point. "So guess what you get to do."
"All right, all right, I got your point. I'll go apologize. He walked in front of her, towards the street off the narrow ally. He slowly reached into his tunic, pulled out a crossbow and ran.
Xena's shoulders sagged and she rolled her eyes, preparing to flip over the man and scare him even more. Unfortunately, she as stopped by a smell… a stench.
Her eyes went wide. Not now.
"Xena," and familiar voice taunted, "it's been to long."
"Not long enough," she said, spinning on her heel to confront the voice she knew too well, "Ares."
"No one else can do that, you know. You practically stopped halfway into a flip because you…" he lifted his eyebrows, "smelled me?"
"What do you want?" The conversation had barely begun and she was already bored.
"I was here to talk to you about scrolls."
Now she was confused. "Scrolls?"
"Yes. Your little friend keeps scrolls, I know. They are very important. They are the only record that's going to last through the ages, to tell everyone about us. I mean the gods, and monsters, people like that."
"Don't you touch Gabrielle's scrolls. Don't even think about it, or I'll—"
"You'll what?" Now Ares sounded bored. HeH was playing with her, and she didn't like it at all. "However, don't worry, I'm not here to talk about those scrolls. Gabrielle's are important, but there are some that are more important still; and those are the scrolls of The Fates."
Xena sighed impatiently. "What about them? They'd never let you touch them, you know."
"Ah, and it is there that you are wrong, my brave Warrior Princess."
She could barely keep herself from leaving right then.
"In those scrolls everything that ever happened or ever will happen is recorded. If someone were to change one line, sometimes even one word, it affects the rest of the scroll after that. And I am allowed to change one sentence. Any one sentence that I like." He lifted his eyebrows in triumph. Xena would have none of it.
"Yeah, right. And how did you manage that?"
"A bet that I won. It was about you, actually."
"When?"
"Oh, about a year ago. I bet The Fates you'd try to kill Gabrielle. They said something about you giving up your brother for her innocence, which, of course, is absurd to begin with. So they were sure that you would always forgive her, no matter what. But, I know you to well. I knew that you all it would take is for the little brat to lie to you, and you'd kill her. They promised not to look and see the outcome, I guess they can do that, so I bet them. And I was right."
"So what does any of this have to do with me?" She asked. That feeling of dread was coming back.
"Well, I've figured out something. You're little friend is all that's keeping you from becoming the warlord you could have been. So I've finally decided on the line that I want to change. Erase, actually."
"Which line?" Die for Gabrielle? She'd done it before. She'd do it again.
"Unless you let her die," he refused to get to the point, "I'll change it. This is my one chance, you know. I already told The Fates that this was the line. You don't even have to watch her die. You can get as far away as that horse of yours will take you in two days. All I ask is that you—"
"Which line?" She demanded angrily.
"Xena is born. You see, if you weren't born, it would actually be as if you had just never taken up the sword. And I'll have a chance to redo all those years I could have been helping someone else achieve greatness. So you see, I win either way."
Xena took a moment to turn the idea over. Never follow the sword, well that would just be like it had been on her little excursion into a different timeline. The Amazons would be slaves, those three warlords would join forces, and Gabrielle… But was it worth it? Would Gabrielle rather be a slave, or dead? She wondered. "Let me ask her. Then I'll tell you."
"Now, you see, I have a lot of power, here. I don't want you to talk to her, because if you weren't terribly upset, my plan wouldn't work. So you can't say a word to her, or defend her."
"Ares, believe me, if Gabrielle died, it wouldn't matter if she knew it was for the greater good or not. I'd still be plenty upset. I have to talk to her. It's she that is impacted the most by this. Let me talk to her."
"Xena, Xena. You never learn. I said you couldn't. I'll be watching." He turned and began to disappear.
"Wait. You said let her die. Are you going to kill her, or something?"
"You'll find out soon enough. You're little friend, the one you were about to follow as I came up, he'll take care of it for me." He listened as their were a few shrieks from down by the river. "Oh, looks like it has already begun." Ares turned and vanished before Xena could say another word.
Xena's mind was a bit adrift. She didn't realize that that scream meant someone was in trouble. She couldn't really think at all. Except, of course, for one thing. Gabrielle. If only she could talk to her. If only she could ask the bard what she wanted.
Then Xena realized that she didn't need to ask Gabrielle. She knew what her companion would say. Gabrielle would think about it for a moment, then say decidedly that it was for the greater good. After all, how much was her life worth if so many people had died for it. Oh, Gabrielle, don't you know I would give the world for you? Don't you realize that, if I had to, I'd sacrifice all of Greece for your happiness? That is what your life is worth to me, my friend. But that is what Gabrielle would want. Xena sighed. She still wanted to talk to her. Or, maybe, it was she didn't want to admit that she was right. Gabrielle would give her life. In a heartbeat. Or perhaps, lack thereof. The thought sent shutters up her back.
Wait. Hadn't Ares said that Tyron would cause it? Maybe if she could stop him… She ran down the ally way as fast as her legs would allow. If she could stop him from doing whatever it was that he was doing, she'd beat him and Ares. She could win this yet.
She flipped out of the ally and ran towards where she saw a crowd gathering. Gabrielle was being dragged away to the prison. Why had Xena hesitated? Why had she waited those precious few seconds to get her head on strait after her talk with Ares? All this wouldn't have happened.
But at least she had a while to think about it. She seemed to know that what ever would happen would happen at least tomorrow. Her friend got dragged into the prison. The crowd began to disperse. Xena's glance caught the theater house, and she thought mournfully of the play that Gabrielle had so wanted to see. There was no way they would make the show now. That was, on top of everything, enough to make her incredibly upset. She turned sadly away and walked towards the inn.
Xena had found the room easy enough. Gabrielle had left the keys with the woman at the front desk with a message that she was at the river, and would be right back. Aside from the obvious absence of her friend, the only interesting things in the room were a squeaky door and a trout that looked like it used to be hot. Probably her lunch, waiting for her to return from her search for her "friend."
She picked up the fish and ate it. Normally she wouldn't have liked it, because it was cold, but at the moment her mouth felt numb, so it didn't matter. Actually, her whole body was numb. She couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. She had failed. She had failed to stop this awful course of events before they started.
And now she would have to choose between Gabrielle's life and Gabrielle's freedom. Between her anchor, the girl who followed her around, for better or for worse, and her existence. And Ares had been right. If she could talk to Gabrielle, neither choice would hurt quite so much. But she couldn't talk to Gabrielle. There was another thing Ares had right. He was holding, as the saying went, all the cards. And there wasn't anything that she could do about it.
Xena sat, staring at the locked window, for hours. She thought about Ares, how often he had hurt her and she hadn't shown it. She thought about that play and wondered what the actors would think when the front row was empty. There were only two seats to begin with, and they belonged to Xena and Gabrielle, neither of whom would be attending. But most of all she thought of Gabrielle. She thought of all the wonderful times that they had had, and all those days, few and far between but there never the less, which—now how did Gabrielle phrase that? —the bards didn't sing about. She thought about how many times they had risked so much for each other. And then she thought about how much she hated Ares for what he had done. But she would not scream out for him to come to her. That would be giving him exactly what he wanted. That would be showing him how weak she really was where Gabrielle was concerned. That was something she wasn't going to do.
At last she started feeling tired. It had been a long day, even if most of it had been spent staring nightmarishly into a closed window. She blinked and turned around. Looking at the fading light she sighed. There was no use staying up all night. If she didn't sleep it wouldn't help Gabrielle at all. It might even end up hurting her. So she shoved her own belongings off the bed, gently set Gabrielle's beside them on the floor and climbed into the bed. The down blankets surrounded her and she was half asleep before she realized that Gabrielle would probably be sleeping on a wooden plank or on the floor. She doubted her friend would have as comfortable surroundings. Xena tried to get back to sleep, but found that her effort was in vain. Finally she got out of the bed and curled up on the hard and cold floor. It was there that the warrior fell asleep, although her nightmares didn't get any less than usual. Not that that surprised her at all. Not tonight.
Xena awoke to a commotion outside her door. It was the innkeeper.
"Miss, you'll want to wake up. That girl who you were supposed to share this room with—her trial is about to start."
Xena glanced once again through the shuttered window. How long had she slept? Too long. "Thanks." She got off the floor and stretched. It was then that she realized she had forgotten to take off her armor last night. That had been a mistake. Wow. I must have really been out of it.
But today was a new day. Today she would find a way out of this. However, right now, she needed to go to Gabrielle's trial. She needed to go and defend her. They could get out of this, yet. But wait. Hadn't Ares said that she couldn't defend her friend, either? Yes. He really did have everything covered. There was no way she could win.
Xena had seen Gabrielle on the way in to the House of Justice. Justice, indeed. The girl had called for her, and it had really hurt not to be able to respond. But those were the rules. It was almost funny, calling them that. It made it sound as if this was some sort of a game. But this wasn't a game.
Gabrielle went up to the front of the room. Xena could see that her hands had been tied behind her back for a long time. Her arms had turned a purplish color. They were probably numb, by now. Just then the girl turned around and mouthed her name.
Xena wasn't sure if she could respond. Ares was undoubtedly standing somewhere in the room, watching to make sure she didn't break their agreement. His agreement. Oh well. Gabrielle was mouthing for her to come up.
I can't. Another thing that hurt. She looked down towards the floor. What right had she to meet this girl's gaze? Or perhaps this woman's. One of them was going to be a great deal more mature by the end of this.
Then the trial began.
The judge told Gabrielle to stand up and asked her name. He also asked her what she said to the charges. She said that she was innocent of the crime she was being charged for, but no, not innocent. Another hurt.
Then Xena got to hear two rather outrageous accounts of what happened, both pinning Gabrielle as the murderess. She didn't listen very carefully, but she caught one thing loud and clear: Don't you even speak her name. Xena couldn't imagine hating Gabrielle. She was sorry she ever had. Those were days that she had not simply basked in their friendship. If she could do it over… Well, there were a lot of things she would do over. She returned her focus sharply back to the courtroom.
After that, the judge asked if anyone would speak for Gabrielle. Another flood of memories…
"Okay. So let's say that she's working with Draco. Let's even say that she's his girlfriend. If you kill her, then he's going to be really mad…"
"How could you have heard swords clanging if no one else was there?"
"Hey, you fight, I talk. We both have our strengths."
Xena was not a talker. They both knew that. And speaking up would be dooming Gabrielle to slavery.
Gabrielle began. Well, she tried to begin, anyway. She had to start over. Xena imagined that she must be scared, hurt, betrayed. She said that she had a friend who wasn't with her and she didn't know why. Gabrielle was doing a good job of hiding her emotions, but Xena heard right through it. She was wounded because Xena wasn't up there. As she spoke, Xena remembered seeing the staff lying, forgotten by the side of the bed. Gabrielle also mentioned that Xena could catch arrows. Oh, but that isn't important, Gabrielle. One day, you will see that that isn't important. That is, if you live to see another day…
She almost burst into tears right there. She couldn't hear this. But she had to. Gabrielle deserved to know that Xena was there. Perhaps not beside her, but behind her. Perhaps silently, but there.
The court adjourned. Gabrielle was taken back to her cell to wait for the verdict. She caught Xena's eyes on the way out; the bard's eyes were so full of hurt. They were afraid and haunted. Xena couldn't hold the intense gaze for very long.
It was amazing, she thought later in the empty courthouse, even when Gabrielle was utterly defeated, there was still that light. The small spark that had been there when the two of them had met had blossomed into a flame, into a fire that would only die with Gabrielle. It was too painful to look into that fire, knowing it would go out sooner than it should.
Xena had chosen to stay in the courthouse and not join a gossip circle on the outside, waiting for a verdict. Except perhaps for that murdered girl's mother, everyone was watching all of this as if it was a play. A play put on entirely for their amusement. The thought probably didn't even occur to them that these were real people, real lives being irrevocably changed.
Finally a bell tolled and the town came back in. Then Gabrielle came in and then the judge. He told her to stand and asked her the name of her village. Gabrielle also gave him Xena's name, to contact, Xena guessed.
Gabrielle said one more time that she was innocent of this murder and was asked one more time of what she was not innocent. Once again, she didn't reply.
The judge said that Gabrielle was to be executed by arrows tomorrow at noon. Xena barely heard the words. She knew that the verdict would be guilty. And she knew that there was nothing that she could do about it. Then it was over. Gabrielle left and it was over.
Xena wasn't exactly sure why she had come here. Too see Gabrielle; yes, but there was something else, too. Something else that she couldn't quite pinpoint. But here she was never the less. Gabrielle turned as she walked into the prison cell. Her hearing was definitely getting better. Xena could see that she was shivering.
"Why, Xena? Why didn't you defend me? Why wouldn't you help me? I know it must have been important. It had to be. Otherwise you would have helped me. I have faith that it was really important."
You're right Gabrielle. She thought silently. It is really important. It was for you, you know. It is because it is what I know you would want me to do.
"So what is it?"
Xena almost told her. Almost blurted it all out, prepared for the world as she knew it to end. But she didn't. That's not what Gabrielle would want.
"Why won't you talk to me? Please, Xena. I'll forgive you, even if it wasn't important. I promise. Just tell me. And help me out of here. Please, Xena?" Now she was crying.
I wish I could, friend.
"Then go. I don't need to spend my last night sobbing for your amusement, or for your enjoyment, or why ever it is that you're here. Just leave! And never come back."
Xena gasped silently. This she hadn't expected. Perhaps she should have, but she didn't. But Gabrielle was right. It wasn't fair. She turned and started walking away.
"Wait, Xena. Please! Come back! Don't leave." Gabrielle sounded desperate, at the end of her rope, so to speak.
Xena almost yelled in gladness. She desperately didn't want to be exiled before she had to go.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
Me forgive you? Yes, with all my heart. For everything you could have possibly ever done to hurt me at all. No, Gabrielle, it is I that need the forgiving.
"I didn't mean that. Do you remember that necklace you gave me?" She pulled on the little chain she kept wrapped around her braid. "I always keep it with me. To remind me of you, I guess."
The necklace came undone. Xena had given to her long ago. It brought back a lot of memories, some very interesting…
"You said it matched my eyes." She giggled a little; just making the tears come out harder. With one hand she attempted to wipe away the endless stream pouring forth from her eyes.
She took in a shuddering breath before she continued. "I gave myself one wish with this necklace. One wish, that was sure to come true. On the power of our friendship. I knew that I would know, when I saw the need for it. I've had to watch you die I've thought I would die myself, but I never thought of this wish. But this, this is worth my wish. I don't think that our friendship could survive this."
That was the one thing that hurt more than anything else.
"--Could survive you standing by and watching me die for something I didn't do. So I call upon the power of our friendship to make it survive this. And if I or both of us or, Gods forbid, you have to die to fulfill it, so be it. I lay this on our friendship, and because I am behind bars, I lay it on you. You have the power to make it come true, and you know it." She could barely speak; the tears were coming so hard. "Let our friendship survive this, because it is what holds my world together, and, in some small way, I think it is what holds the world together."
It holds my world together, too, Gabrielle. You hold my world together.
"So make this turn out all right Xena. Please. I'm glad you came tonight. I'm glad I got to talk to you. You're my world, Xena. I'm glad I got to see you, one last time… It must be a pretty good reason. Here. Take this." She held out the necklace. "Make my wish come true. I love you…"
Xena reached out and took the necklace. She felt that the gold had been worn down some. But the emerald was still in perfect shape. It did match the girl's eyes, even when she was crying.
The prison guard came in. "Come on. Time's up."
No, not yet. Please not yet. I have so much I want to say to you, Gabrielle, I wanted to tell you that I love you, I will never forget you and that everyday I live will be in your memory.
He roughly pulled her out of the small room.
Forgive me, please Gabrielle.
"…Xena."
Xena sobbed silently to herself as she looked at the necklace in her hands. She turned it over and over, remembering when it had been given. That had been a happy day.
Xena squeezed the small stone in between two strong fingers. If only protecting the owner was as easy as protecting the possession. One wish…I want to make it come true more than anything in the world. If only I could. She sighed and put the necklace carefully on the floor next to Gabrielle's other things. Then she blew out the candle and once again curled up on the floor, trying to send all her extra warmth to the prison cell, keeping only enough to keep her alive until tomorrow, so that the last thing that Gabrielle saw would be a friendly face.
Xena glanced at the people seated around what looked like the remains of a campfire. On her left was Joxer, across from her sat Autolycus, Ioles and Hercules were to her right, and Gabrielle sat directly to her left on the log with her.
"The looser has to collect firewood and dig the firepit till we all split up." Autolycus stated.
Xena was confused. Everyone else seemed to be holding slips of parchment. Except Hercules.
"So, if a team loses, does the team have to collect firewood, or just the sidekick?" Ioles asked, appraising the score scribbled in the dirt.
"I don't know, Ioles." Hercules looked at the cards in the smaller man's hands and almost smiled. "I think that you and Gabrielle over there are playing for us." He exchanged glances with Xena.
"But I always have to get the firewood." Gabrielle protested.
"Yeah but so do I, and Autolycus and Joxer." Ioles reminded her.
"Hey, that's right." Gabrielle looked once again at the group assembled before her. "I'll make you a deal. If Hercules and Xena get the firewood, I'll cook."
All the men exchanged glances, then turned and looked imploringly at Xena. Why were they asking her? Oh yeah, collect firewood. Right.
Hercules lifted his eyebrows. "She is a much better cook than any of us, Xena. I'm sure that we could handle the fires for a few days."
"All right, Gabrielle, have it your way." Xena felt herself say. She had no control over this. She smiled at her companion. "I'll get my revenge, just you wait and see. I'll watch you die…"
Xena woke up screaming. Not loudly, but loud enough to wake herself up. I'll watch you die? This nightmare was even worse than her usual ones. It was almost as if it was someone else's. She tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't.
Eventually it became morning. Xena was torn between two emotions. She wanted the night to end, but she didn't want the day to begin.
She got up and got ready, pausing only to take the necklace gently in her hand and fasten it around her neck. She would keep it safe.
Xena walked slowly to the center of the town, by time this time it was almost noon. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Gabrielle had to see her. She could almost see The Fates standing behind her, but when she turned to look, they were gone. After what seemed like days Gabrielle came out and was tied to the post.
"Gabrielle of Poteidia." The judge said. "She will die by arrows for the murder of Isila, Jonan and Damila. Any last words?"
Gabrielle found Xena's eyes. For a moment her eyes flickered to the necklace, and then went back up to the icy blue. Xena almost started to cry again. She could all but feel the emotion passing between them, in that instant.
"I'm sorry I let you down. Or maybe it's you that let me down. Either way, I'm sorry."
"Interesting last words." The judge took a cloth and tied it as a gag around her mouth. He glanced one last time into her eyes before he waved the archers into their line and stepped out of the way.
Gabrielle was terrified. It didn't happen often, that she was this terrified. Afraid, yes. Troubled, yes. But right now, she was terrified. In fact, she was so scared; terrified didn't even begin to cover it. She looked towards the side of the square, where her best friend stood, watching. She knew it was Xena. Not a hate crazed Xena, not Meg or Diana or Lea, Xena. She tried to talk. "Xena, please." She begged. But the gag in her mouth prevented her from speaking the words aloud. Xena understood her though. Gabrielle looked at the warrior, tears filling her eyes, knowing that the arrows would come soon. Xena looked her strait in the eye, and with dread in her heart, shook her head.
Xena felt the necklace suddenly become heavier. It pressed against her chest until she could feel her own heartbeat through it. No. It would not end here. Their friendship would not end here. It couldn't. She wouldn't let it.
"Ares." She growled. Everything around her froze as he appeared before her.
He lifted his eyebrows. This woman was getting difficult. "What?"
"I don't think this is going to work. I won't let it work for you. Fates? I know you're here somewhere." They too appeared before her.
"Yes?" They said in unison.
It occurred to Xena that she didn't need to tell them anything, they already knew what she was going to say, but she had to spell it out for Ares.
"Is there any power of friendship?"
"There"
"is"
"between"
"you"
"and"
"Gabrielle." They said one after another. That must get annoying to anyone who talked to them a lot.
"And if I were to call on that power, would any of you Gods be able to stop me?"
"If"
"you"
"used"
"it"
"once,"
"no."
This was working better than she had planned. Xena took the necklace off and handed it to them. "I call on the power of my friendship between Gabrielle and me to overthrow Ares' deal with you. The power is in that necklace, take it. Give me my request."
The Maiden took the necklace from The Mother and watched as it floated up into the air and spun quickly, giving off light the whole time. Then it came to a rest once again in her hand, looking perhaps even more radiant than before.
"It"
"is"
"done."
Ares' eyes widened in disgust and he stormed off, disappearing as he went.
"Thank you." Was all Xena could think to say.
"Thank"
"your"
"friend,"
"she"
"gave"
"it"
"the"
"power."
Xena considered something. "You knew that this would happen, didn't you? You knew I would use this, right from the beginning. Before you even made the bet, didn't you?"
"Yes." And they were gone.
Time returned to normal. Xena reached for her chakrum and cut off the arrows as they flew towards her friend. She raced up and cut the bonds that held her and led the shaken bard off the platform.
"This is not the person you want. The person who actually killed them is over there." Xena pointed at where she saw Tyron crouched, trying to steal food.
The village surged upon him, and he confessed. However, they didn't kill him. Since he had confessed, he was just taken to the prison, for the rest of his life. All's well that end's well. Almost.
It had been a long evening. Xena still hadn't found the words to explain what had happened to Gabrielle, but she knew she must, soon. Now Gabrielle was sitting on the other side of the fire, writing in her scroll. The one called Hero's Shadow. Xena wasn't sure she wanted to know what it said.
Gabrielle glanced at the woman on the other side of the fire. There would be time enough to explain. The important thing was that now she was safe. Her necklace hung around her neck, somehow prettier than before. She wanted to go over and hug Xena, to tell her that she forgave her and that she would always forgive her, but she sensed that that was not was Xena needed. Xena needed to be left alone to sort everything out for a few minutes. In the morning, they would talk.
She set down the scroll and climbed into her bedroll. It was nicer than that bed would have been, anyway. Here she was home. It was then that she started crying again. She hadn't cried all afternoon, but now she couldn't stop. She felt the tears drip across the bridge of her nose and onto her hair. She cried herself to sleep, but they were tears of relief.
Xena wanted to comfort Gabrielle, but didn't. Gabrielle needed to work through this on her own. Tomorrow they would talk. Once the bard was asleep, Xena went over and knelt beside her.
"Forgive me." She whispered. "Thank you, for being my friend."
She thought she heard Gabrielle murmur "you too," but she couldn't be sure.
Xena picked up the scroll and read. She recognized the song from a few nights ago. Had it only been a few nights?
The world at my feet,
A friend by my side
I won't miss a beat
I'm ready to fly!
There is something about tears. When you cry, everything gets all blurry. It is almost as if the tears are trying to hide whatever is making you cry from your vision. But then you blink, and it comes back. However, once in a very long while, the tears can't hide what's hurting you, but when you blink, and reopen your eyes, you see exactly what you were looking for in the first place. If you're like me, you see a friend, rising out of the mob to save you. But it could be something else for you. What ever it is, though, it's right there when you blink, just like you expected it to be.
And that is the most beautiful thing in the world.