Chapter III

Xena watched the sun rise the next morning. She sat in amazement, the orange and yellow hues of the sun rose over the horizon; it was her first sunrise in a year. She had not slept much that night, being dead had given her all the rest she needed for awhile. Xena spent most of the night trying to picture what Gabrielle's life must have been like over the past year. The picture that kept running through her mind was painful. As she sat there watching the young warrior sleep, she quietly whispered to herself "How am I going to make this up to you?" as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The sun was almost overhead when Gabrielle finally awoke. She slowly sat up and stretched her arms above her head. As she sat there, she began to wonder if all the previous events of the day had just been a dream, until she looked over her shoulder and saw Xena seated on a rock near the fire.

"By the gods, it seems as though I have slept longer than usual," Gabrielle said with a smile.

"Well you needed the rest, and I know better than to wake you too early," Xena gave Gabrielle a devilish grin, "you're sure not a morning person."

"Cute Xena, very cute," stated the young warrior playfully as she began to stand up.

"What Gabrielle, I am only stating the facts," answered Xena with a now innocent expression on her face.

Gabrielle shot the leather clad warrior a darting stare. "I know you're itching to go kill something, so what's for breakfast?"

"I was thinking of hunting some deer, that way we would have enough meat left to dry out for our trip home." Xena slowly began to gather up her weapons

"Sounds like a plan," replied Gabrielle as she began to reach for something in her pack, "but first you might want this to help you with your hunt."

Xena's eyes lit up as Gabrielle pulled the object from her pack. As she saw the look her friend's face, Gabrielle tossed the chakram towards Xena.

After she caught it, Xena held up the weapon examining every part of it. She then clipped the chakram onto her belt.

"It looks much better on you anyways," Gabrielle walked by Xena with a grin.

With a raised eyebrow and half grin, Xena answered, "I bet."

"Well, I better get to hunting or it will be afternoon before we eat, I will be back as soon as I catch something," the raven haired warrior stated as she walked towards the trees.

Gabrielle watched her friend as she disappeared into the forest, she could not believe that this had really happened, that Xena was alive again. She now felt as if she had revived her soul along with the warrior princess, and fate had given them both a chance to live again. Feeling a bit light headed and overwhelmed, Gabrielle quietly sat down and wept tears of joy.

Meanwhile, Xena was in the woods tracking her prey, she loved to hunt. It gave her a chance to work on her stealth and tracking skills, and the time alone gave her a chance to think about how she would go about being in the bard's life again. There were a lot of things that had yet to be said and she knew over time they would eventually come out, but right now things were going okay although the journey was not going to be as smooth. The tracks that the warrior had been following lead out to a clearing in the forest. As she looked up from the trail of hoof prints, she saw the buck grazing in the grass about fifty feet away.

"Okay, I am going to make this as painless as possible." She slowly lifted the chakram from her belt. As she raised it up ready for the throw she thought to herself, "Come on and hit your mark." With that said she gave it a mighty hurl, and within a few seconds the deer hit the ground dead. When Xena arrived at the lifeless body of the deer, she saw that the chakram had indeed hit its target piercing the deer in the heart, killing him instantly.

Xena arrived back at camp carrying the prey atop her shoulders. Gabrielle had found some herbs and a few vegetables to cook along with the meat.

"Well, looks like you had a good time," Gabrielle smiled as the warrior laid down her prey.

"Yeah, well if felt good although I'm a little rusty on the tracking, but it will all come back in time." Xena then began to prepare the meat to be dried and cooked.

After a quiet meal, it was now time to discuss plans on the journey back to Greece.

"So, have you thought about how we're going to get back?" Xena handed her plate over to be cleaned.

"Actually I have it already planned out." Gabrielle stood up with the plates in hand. "How about I go into town and secure our passage at the port, while you stay here."

"Stay here for what?" Xena was now curiously looking at the bard.

"Because Xena we can't have you going into town and scaring the villagers." She looked down at Xena in amusement, "you are supposed to be dead, remember."

"Oh yeah, I see your point." Xena returned her friend's look of amusement.

"I say we leave like I came in, unrecognized." Gabrielle was now finished with the plates and began to place them back into her pack.

Xena stood up and walked over and retrieved a water skin. "Well you did a good job of it, I would not have recognized you, by the way I like your new look."

"Thanks, I'm glad you do." Gabrielle picked up her cloak and began to put her weapons into place.

The warrior princess knew there was more behind the story of the hair change, but now was not the time to get into it. She knew better than to push her friend for answers.

"I will be back as soon as the passage back to Greece is secured," Gabrielle stated as she threw the cloak over her shoulders. "Try to stay out of out of sight and out of trouble until I return."

"Very funny, I think I can manage by myself." Xena walked over and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "You be careful and don't take any unnecessary chances." It had not taken Xena long to resume her protective role with the bard.

Gabrielle replied with a slight annoyed and humorous tone "I'll be back before you miss me." She then made her ways towards the path.

"I doubt that," Xena whispered as she watched the young warrior walk away.

It did not take Gabrielle long to reach the village. She made her way through the streets and finally to the port, there she spoke to the port master about which ships would be heading to Greece. He informed her that there was at least one ship that was setting sail shortly after sunset and pointed her in the direction of it. Gabrielle made her way to the ship, which was located at the end of the dock. There was a man standing on the dock next to the ship watching the cargo being loaded on board.

Gabrielle greeted the man as she approached him, "Good day sir, how are you?"

"Good day Miss, I am good thank you," the man replied to the beautiful woman standing before him.

"I was looking for the captain of this ship, I hear it will depart for Greece tonight, do you know where I might find him." The bard now flashed her charming smile at the older gentleman.

"That would be me, how can I help you?" the captain replied back.

"Well, I need to buy passage for two on your ship. I am willing to pay you two hundred dinars for it, including our help if needed on the trip." Gabrielle was hoping the captain would accept her offer; it was indeed a quite generous one.

The captain rubbed his chin. "Two hundred dinars, that's a lot for a trip back to Greece. We don't usually take on passengers but I could make an exception this one time."

"I will pay you one hundred dinars before we set sail, and the other hundred you will receive when we arrive in Greece. Oh and one more thing, anything that you or your men witness while we are aboard, I would like your word that no questions will be asked. Do we have a deal sir?" She had improved her bargaining skills over the years and had become pretty good at it.

The captain held out his hand, "Little lady, you have yourself a deal. We leave around midnight tonight."

Gabrielle took the captain's hand and with a smile said, "We will see you tonight then, thank you."

She stopped by a few shops, picked up some supplies and headed back to camp. The bard was almost to there when she felt that she was being watched. Nobody had followed her back from town she knew that much. There was only one person this could be.

"Okay whoever is there can come on out." There was a hint of laughter in her voice, after all those years she had finally caught the warrior princess sneaking up on her.

The famous war cry was sweet music to her ears. As she turned her head in the direction it came from, she saw Xena flip out of the tree behind her.

"Show off," Gabrielle said with a slight grin.

"What? I decided to get some exercise in." Walking up to her friend, Xena placed her arm around her shoulder. "So did you find us a way back home?"

"Yes I did. We leave at midnight tonight and here I got you something." She smiled happily, handing a bound package to her friend.

Xena quickly opened the package to find a long grey hooded cloak inside. "Thanks, seems to me that you have everything under control."

When the warriors awoke it was now time to go, they collected their things and head back to town. The moon was particularly bright that night. The rays are their guide leading them down the road. When they arrived the streets were empty, it was late and most of the people had returned to their homes for the night. With few people on the streets there was little to no chance of being recognized. As Gabrielle and Xena approached the port, they saw the captain patiently waiting on the dock.

"Good evening sir looks like a fine night for sailing," Gabrielle said as she shook the captain's hand.

The captain smiled and replied, "Indeed it is Miss, the water appears to be calm and at ease."

Gabrielle reached down in the side pocket of her pack and pulled out a small purse. "Now down to our business at hand, here is your one hundred dinars as promised." She handed it over to the captain. "The rest of course you will receive when we are in Greece."

The captain looked briefly in the pouch and then closed it. "I hope you fine ladies find your quarters suitable."

Xena finally broke her silence, "I am sure we will sir, thank you for your hospitality and if there is anything we can assist you with on the voyage, please let us know."

After the two women were aboard, they headed down below the deck to inspect their living quarters. The rooms contained only the bare necessities which were a bed, desk, water pitcher, and a small bowl. With the inspection completed, the two women walked back to the deck and watched as the town slowly disappeared in the dark.

Xena was a bit more relaxed now, she was glad to be gone from the place that caused them so much pain. It felt like a large weight had been removed from her shoulders. She looked over at the bard who was silent. "Are you okay, Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle looked up at the much taller warrior and softly spoke. "I am fine, I was just thinking of the last time I left this place grief stricken and alone. I didn't know what to expect when I came back here and if someone had told me that you would be with me when I left again. I would have told them that they were insane."

"I know how hard it was for you to come back, if I had been in your place I don't think I could have." The guilt of putting Gabrielle through all that pain still overwhelmed Xena. "You're a strong willed person; you don't know how much I admire you for that."

"Well what can I say, I had a good teacher," the bard replied as she placed her had on Xena's back. "I don't know about you but I am ready to call it a night."

"I agree. I could use a good night's sleep in a bed."

With Japa behind them, tomorrow would be a chance at a new beginning for them both.

Part II: Coming Soon!

A/N: Sorry you guys its taken me so long to post school has been crazy, I have been writing just not on what I have wanted too. I have been sitting on this for awhile and decided to go ahead and post what I have, I starting on part two in the next week or so since I am now on break. Thanks for the ones that are still hanging in there. As always I love the feedback good or bad so let me have it LOL :-)