The heat was so intense she could feel it heating her skin through her armor. The heat grew until it completely surrounded her. Sweat rolled off her body, sizzling as it hit the table.
She paused a moment, thinking. Blinking the sweat out of her eyes, she gritted her teeth and began swinging her body. Slowly from side to side, gaining momentum. Thrusting her hips to swing faster, she groaned out loud from the pain.
Flames lashed up over the edges of the table, snapping at her. Finally she swung hard enough to flip her body over to face the table. The heat blasted in her face, making her wince. She looked up where her shackles were screwed into the crank and grinned.
"YES!" she hissed, swinging herself again. The skin not covered by her armor was starting to turn red, the smell of hot leather burned in her nostrils. Thick gray smoke filled the air, making her cough, so she took short breaths and continued to flip her body around, each turn getting easier.
Smoke billowed from under the cell door and the guard nodded, certain Volicis would be pleased. He waited several minutes, but there were no screams of pain from a burning body. It was eerily silent. He was puzzled, but figured the smoke must have gotten her first. Unlocking the cell, he covered the lower half f his face with his shirt and went in to check the body. Through the smoke he saw there was nothing on the table. The woman was gone!
"Eiyiyiyiyiyi!" Xena reached up through the curtain of smoke, grabbed his head with her shackled hands and slammed his face into the sizzling table.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, trying to twist away, burning his hands when he tried to push himself up.
"Oh yeah, I like mine golden brown!" Xena growled. Lifting him up, she gave him a vicious backfist that instantly knocked him out. Taking his keys, she freed her wrists, limped carefully out of the cell and locked it behind her.
"I have a complaint about your steam room..." she mumbled. Taking a deep steadying breath, she rubbed her burning eyes and set out to find her friend.
*****
Gabrielle watched the guard slowly open the heavy cage door. The thought of those deadly birds being set free almost drove the pain from her mind. She had to do something!
"Hey, wait a minute!" she called out to the guard. He paused and glared at her. "What?" he grumbled.
"Do you have to do that? I mean, couldn't you just let me starve to death or something?"
He just shook his head and continued raising the door.
"WAIT!" she yelled again.
He paused again, "What?!"
She thought quickly, "Uh... I uh, I have an itch! Yeah! Before you do that could you please scratch my nose? Think of it as a last request." She wrinkled her nose dramatically, "It really itches!"
The guard frowned. He knew he should just do as he was ordered and leave, but a last request? He sighed and climbed down. The cage door was only a few inches off the ground, but the birds tried furiously to squeeze through.
Gabrielle was hugely relieved when her diversion worked. Grabbing the chains above the manacles, she gritted her teeth against the stabbing pain in her arm.
He stood before her and reached up to scratch the bridge of her nose. With a loud grunt, Gabrielle pulled herself up on the chains. Lifting her left leg up, she hooked it over the left side of his neck and snapped her leg down. He slammed to the floor, his head hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud.
He can't let them out now. She hung limply heavily against the manacles with relief. To her surprise, her sweaty hands slipped the tiniest bit through them. Her pain quickly forgotten, she began to twist against them, trying to get her hands to slip even further. Volicis said Xena was suffering and the quicker she got out of these things, the quicker she could help her.
While she was busy trying to free herself, one of the smaller birds managed to wiggle his way through the slight opening. Behind it, the others continued to try and push themselves through. With a hungry gleam in its eyes, the bird darted toward its meal. Gabrielle heard the flapping of wings and whipped her head around, looking for the source. The bird circled her, and in a flash came up against her back, poking her with its claws. She gasped at the sharp scratch. It continued to do this over and over. She could feel her back bleeding. It was as if the bird was testing the quality of its food before the feast.
Suddenly it landed on the back of her skirt, gripping the waistband. Gabrielle wiggled and thrashed about, trying to fling the bird off, but it maintained its grip on her.
Rubbing its beak against the bloody skin of her back, it was finally ready to eat.
*****
Xena slipped through the corridors without the slightest idea where Gabrielle may be or how she was. Her senses were all on full alert for some sign, some slight clue where she might be. Her torn muscles contracted on their own, her nerves sizzling with pain, but she didn't care. She turned down one corridor a saw that it branched into two paths at the end. A tingling sensation crept up the back of her neck and she could sense a group coming toward the corner she'd just turned. Again the sensation hit, and she sensed a group in front of her coming down one of the branching corridors.
She silently sprinted up to that corner and peered around. Six guards were quickly approaching the corner. She could hear the footstep behind her getting closer. They would soon turn down this corridor, and she didn't want to waste time fighting any of them right now. She needed a diversion for the guards ahead so she could go down the other branching hallway and continue her search for Gabrielle. Reaching down into her leathers behind her breastplate, she pulled out the curved dagger. She had to act fast.
Cautiously, right at the edge of the corner, she whirled the dagger down the corridor. It whizzed silently above their heads, clanging against a wall behind them. The all whipped around at the sound, swords at the ready. Xena bolted past them and sprinted silently away.
*****
"Ow! OUCH!" Gabrielle screamed at the sharp pecking of the bird's beak. She lashed about, trying desperately to slip at least one of her hands out, but they wouldn't slip any more than they had. Her attention was lost again as the small bird bit deeper into her skin.
"AAAAGH!" she thrashed her body even harder. Squinting through her tears at the cage, she was horrified to see another bird slip out, and then another.
*****
Lounging in his throne, Volicis could hear the faint screams below. He wondered if he should've watched her death, but felt no need. He felt quite satisfied at finally being able to make Xena suffer. Fondling the chakram, he admired the way the sunlight glistened off such a powerful weapon. Another round of screams from below caught his ear. He grinned and shook his head, amazed that she was lasting so long. "Tough little girl," he muttered, tapping the chakram against his leg. There was a knock at the door.
"Go away!" he snapped. The knocking persisted.
"I said go away!" he yelled, gripping the chakram tightly. The sharpened edge bit into his palm, making him hiss sharply and loosen his grip. He glared at the weapon and held the blunt inside edge with his fingertips. The knocking continued.
"Stupid guards!" He tromped toward the door and reached for the heavy iron handle. The door burst open, sending him flying backward. Stepping into the light of the doorway, stunned from the impact of the door, he made out the shadowed figure that stood there.
He pointed a shaky finger, "You're dead.... You're DEAD! YOU WERE BURNED ALIVE!"
Bathed in light, eyes hard and glinting, Xena looked the very image of an avenging angel. "Consider me a non-smoker!" she growled darkly. She quickly flipped forward, tumbling in a flurry of cartwheels and flips. Volicis could do nothing but scramble to his throne, but Xena flipped high up and landed right on him, tackling him to the ground. Her chakram rolled out of his hand. Xena stepped swiftly up to the throne and slammed her hand on the first skull carved into the arm. Seeing this, he rolled out of the way just as the trap door fell open.
"AAAAAGGGGH!!" Gabrielle's screams echoed from below, chilling Xena to the bone. She snatched up her chakram and without a second thought, dropped down toward her friend.
*****
As she fell, Xena relaxed her body so that she wouldn't break any bones whenever she landed. Gabrielle's cries echoed in her ears, so it was a great effort to keep herself from tensing up. She forced her body to remain limp.
Her legs touched down on top of the cage. Her knees bent deeply and crouched so low, her bottom slammed against the cage bars. She took a moment to collect herself, mentally check her body, and look around. The sight before her almost made her ill.
Gabrielle's torso was covered with black birds. They picked viciously at her flesh and clothing, flapping their wings as they held on with their claws. With each peck, Gabrielle cried out.
A dark rage filled Xena, almost blinding her. Her eyes narrowed and her hands began to shake. With an animal-like scream, she flew off the cage and batted the winged beasts off of her friend. They flew in all directions, many slamming into the surrounding walls and dropping dead on the floor.
Xena was in a frenzy! When the last bird was knocked off, she grabbed the chains above Gabrielle's manacled hands and with a deep growl, ripped them from the walls. Gabrielle fell heavily against her, her breath coming in gasps and sobs. Xena noticed some of the birds were ambling across the floor toward her. "BACK OFF!" she hissed. They froze, turned right around and flapped quickly to their cage, some even trying to squeeze themselves back inside.
With a raised eyebrow, Xena set Gabrielle gently on the floor. She lay whimpering, tears soaking her face, her breath hissing between her clenched teeth. The severity of the wounds immediately cleared her frenzied mind and the healer inside took over. She quickly checked her out. The front of her body wasn't hurt other than a few scratches, since they hadn't gotten past her leather top yet. It was ripped in several places. But her back...
Xena drew in a steadying breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. She couldn't get emotional right now.
Gabrielle's back had been picked almost raw. Blood still flowed freely down her back and soaked her skirt. Xena's mind raced for a way to stop the bleeding. Eyeing the fallen guard, she knelt next to him and ripped off his shirt, relieved to find it fairly clean. She folded it and pressed it firmly to Gabrielle's back, wincing as her friend moaned. She had to tie it to her somehow. Glancing back at the guard, she grinned.
A few minutes later, she had used a small dagger from her boot to cut a pair of leather pants into strips, and used those strips to bind the shirt to Gabrielle's back. The pressure would stop the bleeding and hopefully alleviate some of the pain. That was all she could do until she could get her to a hospice.
Cradling Gabrielle in her lap, she could see Gabrielle's glazed eyes begin to clear.
"Xena?" she whispered.
Xena smiled and pushed back the hair from her dear friend's face, "I'm here, Gabrielle. You're going to be all right."
Gabrielle weakly raised her hand to Xena's cheek, "You're okay? Volicis..." she swallowed hard, "he said you were suffering...I, I couldn't..." she breathed heavily. Her skin was covered with sweat and her body burned, but she hardly noticed, so relieved was she to see Xena's face.
"Shhhh," Xena shook her head. "I'm all right. A little worse for wear, but I'll be fine." Indeed the warrior didn't feel much pain at all, just a numb tingling all over that she knew was from shock and exhaustion. Not to mention pure determination to ignore any pain. She'd mastered that particular skill years ago.
Gabrielle sighed and closed her eyes, slipping into blissful unconsciousness.
Xena rocked her friend gently in her arms, cursing herself fiercely for bringing Gabrielle into this mess. How many more times will she suffer because of me? The enormous guilt she felt pressed heavily down on her heart. Leaning her head against Gabrielle, the Warrior Princess finally let her tears fall.
*****
She held her there for several long moments, eyes closed tightly, forcing her tears to stop. Sighing, Xena realized she didn't have time to think about the past. Gabrielle was still in danger. Carefully, she lifted her bleeding friend and carried her cautiously through the dark winding corridors toward the main entrance. Xena managed to avoid the patrolling soldiers, slipping silently past them, even with her heavy burden.
Stepping out into the sunlight, she was surprised to see Argo waiting in the deserted grounds at front of the castle. The mare shifted on her hooves to keep warm, snorting loudly. Xena grinned, ever grateful for the loyal steed. How Argo always seemed to know when and where she was needed, Xena didn't care to speculate, she just whispered a silent prayer of thanks to the Fates. She was truly blessed to have Argo in her life.
Mindful of the approaching soldiers, she quickly carried Gabrielle over to the horse. Looking over her shoulder, she considered the man that had done this to her friend and made up her mind. Laying Gabrielle face down across the saddle, she deftly bound her to it so she wouldn't slip off. Taking a thick pelt from the saddlebag, she made sure Gabrielle was covered. Turning Argo toward the castle gate, she whispered softly in her ear, "She's hurt. Take care of her." Argo whinnied in understanding and took off, her hooves pounding through the snow.
Xena sighed in relief, one worry falling from her shoulders. Argo would take Gabrielle to the nearest hospice and she would meet up with them later. Later, when she was finished here.
Finished with Volicis.
She paused a moment, thinking. Blinking the sweat out of her eyes, she gritted her teeth and began swinging her body. Slowly from side to side, gaining momentum. Thrusting her hips to swing faster, she groaned out loud from the pain.
Flames lashed up over the edges of the table, snapping at her. Finally she swung hard enough to flip her body over to face the table. The heat blasted in her face, making her wince. She looked up where her shackles were screwed into the crank and grinned.
"YES!" she hissed, swinging herself again. The skin not covered by her armor was starting to turn red, the smell of hot leather burned in her nostrils. Thick gray smoke filled the air, making her cough, so she took short breaths and continued to flip her body around, each turn getting easier.
Smoke billowed from under the cell door and the guard nodded, certain Volicis would be pleased. He waited several minutes, but there were no screams of pain from a burning body. It was eerily silent. He was puzzled, but figured the smoke must have gotten her first. Unlocking the cell, he covered the lower half f his face with his shirt and went in to check the body. Through the smoke he saw there was nothing on the table. The woman was gone!
"Eiyiyiyiyiyi!" Xena reached up through the curtain of smoke, grabbed his head with her shackled hands and slammed his face into the sizzling table.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, trying to twist away, burning his hands when he tried to push himself up.
"Oh yeah, I like mine golden brown!" Xena growled. Lifting him up, she gave him a vicious backfist that instantly knocked him out. Taking his keys, she freed her wrists, limped carefully out of the cell and locked it behind her.
"I have a complaint about your steam room..." she mumbled. Taking a deep steadying breath, she rubbed her burning eyes and set out to find her friend.
*****
Gabrielle watched the guard slowly open the heavy cage door. The thought of those deadly birds being set free almost drove the pain from her mind. She had to do something!
"Hey, wait a minute!" she called out to the guard. He paused and glared at her. "What?" he grumbled.
"Do you have to do that? I mean, couldn't you just let me starve to death or something?"
He just shook his head and continued raising the door.
"WAIT!" she yelled again.
He paused again, "What?!"
She thought quickly, "Uh... I uh, I have an itch! Yeah! Before you do that could you please scratch my nose? Think of it as a last request." She wrinkled her nose dramatically, "It really itches!"
The guard frowned. He knew he should just do as he was ordered and leave, but a last request? He sighed and climbed down. The cage door was only a few inches off the ground, but the birds tried furiously to squeeze through.
Gabrielle was hugely relieved when her diversion worked. Grabbing the chains above the manacles, she gritted her teeth against the stabbing pain in her arm.
He stood before her and reached up to scratch the bridge of her nose. With a loud grunt, Gabrielle pulled herself up on the chains. Lifting her left leg up, she hooked it over the left side of his neck and snapped her leg down. He slammed to the floor, his head hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud.
He can't let them out now. She hung limply heavily against the manacles with relief. To her surprise, her sweaty hands slipped the tiniest bit through them. Her pain quickly forgotten, she began to twist against them, trying to get her hands to slip even further. Volicis said Xena was suffering and the quicker she got out of these things, the quicker she could help her.
While she was busy trying to free herself, one of the smaller birds managed to wiggle his way through the slight opening. Behind it, the others continued to try and push themselves through. With a hungry gleam in its eyes, the bird darted toward its meal. Gabrielle heard the flapping of wings and whipped her head around, looking for the source. The bird circled her, and in a flash came up against her back, poking her with its claws. She gasped at the sharp scratch. It continued to do this over and over. She could feel her back bleeding. It was as if the bird was testing the quality of its food before the feast.
Suddenly it landed on the back of her skirt, gripping the waistband. Gabrielle wiggled and thrashed about, trying to fling the bird off, but it maintained its grip on her.
Rubbing its beak against the bloody skin of her back, it was finally ready to eat.
*****
Xena slipped through the corridors without the slightest idea where Gabrielle may be or how she was. Her senses were all on full alert for some sign, some slight clue where she might be. Her torn muscles contracted on their own, her nerves sizzling with pain, but she didn't care. She turned down one corridor a saw that it branched into two paths at the end. A tingling sensation crept up the back of her neck and she could sense a group coming toward the corner she'd just turned. Again the sensation hit, and she sensed a group in front of her coming down one of the branching corridors.
She silently sprinted up to that corner and peered around. Six guards were quickly approaching the corner. She could hear the footstep behind her getting closer. They would soon turn down this corridor, and she didn't want to waste time fighting any of them right now. She needed a diversion for the guards ahead so she could go down the other branching hallway and continue her search for Gabrielle. Reaching down into her leathers behind her breastplate, she pulled out the curved dagger. She had to act fast.
Cautiously, right at the edge of the corner, she whirled the dagger down the corridor. It whizzed silently above their heads, clanging against a wall behind them. The all whipped around at the sound, swords at the ready. Xena bolted past them and sprinted silently away.
*****
"Ow! OUCH!" Gabrielle screamed at the sharp pecking of the bird's beak. She lashed about, trying desperately to slip at least one of her hands out, but they wouldn't slip any more than they had. Her attention was lost again as the small bird bit deeper into her skin.
"AAAAGH!" she thrashed her body even harder. Squinting through her tears at the cage, she was horrified to see another bird slip out, and then another.
*****
Lounging in his throne, Volicis could hear the faint screams below. He wondered if he should've watched her death, but felt no need. He felt quite satisfied at finally being able to make Xena suffer. Fondling the chakram, he admired the way the sunlight glistened off such a powerful weapon. Another round of screams from below caught his ear. He grinned and shook his head, amazed that she was lasting so long. "Tough little girl," he muttered, tapping the chakram against his leg. There was a knock at the door.
"Go away!" he snapped. The knocking persisted.
"I said go away!" he yelled, gripping the chakram tightly. The sharpened edge bit into his palm, making him hiss sharply and loosen his grip. He glared at the weapon and held the blunt inside edge with his fingertips. The knocking continued.
"Stupid guards!" He tromped toward the door and reached for the heavy iron handle. The door burst open, sending him flying backward. Stepping into the light of the doorway, stunned from the impact of the door, he made out the shadowed figure that stood there.
He pointed a shaky finger, "You're dead.... You're DEAD! YOU WERE BURNED ALIVE!"
Bathed in light, eyes hard and glinting, Xena looked the very image of an avenging angel. "Consider me a non-smoker!" she growled darkly. She quickly flipped forward, tumbling in a flurry of cartwheels and flips. Volicis could do nothing but scramble to his throne, but Xena flipped high up and landed right on him, tackling him to the ground. Her chakram rolled out of his hand. Xena stepped swiftly up to the throne and slammed her hand on the first skull carved into the arm. Seeing this, he rolled out of the way just as the trap door fell open.
"AAAAAGGGGH!!" Gabrielle's screams echoed from below, chilling Xena to the bone. She snatched up her chakram and without a second thought, dropped down toward her friend.
*****
As she fell, Xena relaxed her body so that she wouldn't break any bones whenever she landed. Gabrielle's cries echoed in her ears, so it was a great effort to keep herself from tensing up. She forced her body to remain limp.
Her legs touched down on top of the cage. Her knees bent deeply and crouched so low, her bottom slammed against the cage bars. She took a moment to collect herself, mentally check her body, and look around. The sight before her almost made her ill.
Gabrielle's torso was covered with black birds. They picked viciously at her flesh and clothing, flapping their wings as they held on with their claws. With each peck, Gabrielle cried out.
A dark rage filled Xena, almost blinding her. Her eyes narrowed and her hands began to shake. With an animal-like scream, she flew off the cage and batted the winged beasts off of her friend. They flew in all directions, many slamming into the surrounding walls and dropping dead on the floor.
Xena was in a frenzy! When the last bird was knocked off, she grabbed the chains above Gabrielle's manacled hands and with a deep growl, ripped them from the walls. Gabrielle fell heavily against her, her breath coming in gasps and sobs. Xena noticed some of the birds were ambling across the floor toward her. "BACK OFF!" she hissed. They froze, turned right around and flapped quickly to their cage, some even trying to squeeze themselves back inside.
With a raised eyebrow, Xena set Gabrielle gently on the floor. She lay whimpering, tears soaking her face, her breath hissing between her clenched teeth. The severity of the wounds immediately cleared her frenzied mind and the healer inside took over. She quickly checked her out. The front of her body wasn't hurt other than a few scratches, since they hadn't gotten past her leather top yet. It was ripped in several places. But her back...
Xena drew in a steadying breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. She couldn't get emotional right now.
Gabrielle's back had been picked almost raw. Blood still flowed freely down her back and soaked her skirt. Xena's mind raced for a way to stop the bleeding. Eyeing the fallen guard, she knelt next to him and ripped off his shirt, relieved to find it fairly clean. She folded it and pressed it firmly to Gabrielle's back, wincing as her friend moaned. She had to tie it to her somehow. Glancing back at the guard, she grinned.
A few minutes later, she had used a small dagger from her boot to cut a pair of leather pants into strips, and used those strips to bind the shirt to Gabrielle's back. The pressure would stop the bleeding and hopefully alleviate some of the pain. That was all she could do until she could get her to a hospice.
Cradling Gabrielle in her lap, she could see Gabrielle's glazed eyes begin to clear.
"Xena?" she whispered.
Xena smiled and pushed back the hair from her dear friend's face, "I'm here, Gabrielle. You're going to be all right."
Gabrielle weakly raised her hand to Xena's cheek, "You're okay? Volicis..." she swallowed hard, "he said you were suffering...I, I couldn't..." she breathed heavily. Her skin was covered with sweat and her body burned, but she hardly noticed, so relieved was she to see Xena's face.
"Shhhh," Xena shook her head. "I'm all right. A little worse for wear, but I'll be fine." Indeed the warrior didn't feel much pain at all, just a numb tingling all over that she knew was from shock and exhaustion. Not to mention pure determination to ignore any pain. She'd mastered that particular skill years ago.
Gabrielle sighed and closed her eyes, slipping into blissful unconsciousness.
Xena rocked her friend gently in her arms, cursing herself fiercely for bringing Gabrielle into this mess. How many more times will she suffer because of me? The enormous guilt she felt pressed heavily down on her heart. Leaning her head against Gabrielle, the Warrior Princess finally let her tears fall.
*****
She held her there for several long moments, eyes closed tightly, forcing her tears to stop. Sighing, Xena realized she didn't have time to think about the past. Gabrielle was still in danger. Carefully, she lifted her bleeding friend and carried her cautiously through the dark winding corridors toward the main entrance. Xena managed to avoid the patrolling soldiers, slipping silently past them, even with her heavy burden.
Stepping out into the sunlight, she was surprised to see Argo waiting in the deserted grounds at front of the castle. The mare shifted on her hooves to keep warm, snorting loudly. Xena grinned, ever grateful for the loyal steed. How Argo always seemed to know when and where she was needed, Xena didn't care to speculate, she just whispered a silent prayer of thanks to the Fates. She was truly blessed to have Argo in her life.
Mindful of the approaching soldiers, she quickly carried Gabrielle over to the horse. Looking over her shoulder, she considered the man that had done this to her friend and made up her mind. Laying Gabrielle face down across the saddle, she deftly bound her to it so she wouldn't slip off. Taking a thick pelt from the saddlebag, she made sure Gabrielle was covered. Turning Argo toward the castle gate, she whispered softly in her ear, "She's hurt. Take care of her." Argo whinnied in understanding and took off, her hooves pounding through the snow.
Xena sighed in relief, one worry falling from her shoulders. Argo would take Gabrielle to the nearest hospice and she would meet up with them later. Later, when she was finished here.
Finished with Volicis.
