Copyright 2003
Part 1
Author's Notes: Thanks to Sandy for the beta and for writing the scenes with Aphrodite in them.
The blonde bard paced back and forth while her companion watched her. "I can't believe you let him go off by himself!"
"Gabrielle, calm down! I'm not in charge of him. Joxer's not the one on parole here. He said he had things to do, and so he left."
The green eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of things?"
"I don't know. I didn't think about using the pinch to find out."
Gabrielle whirled around at Xena's reply. "Well, maybe you should have! There's no telling what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into."
Jett lay on the ground chewing on a blade of grass. "Jox did all right for himself before we all started to travel together. Maybe he just needed a break. It not like he won't come back," he pointed out.
Gabrielle looked at Jett. "Oh, stay out of this! I didn't ask you."
Jett raised his hand in protest. "Hey, don't bite my head off! Jox probably was short on dinars and went to earn more."
"How? His fighting skills are better than they used to be, but they're still lousy!"
"I guess the same way he always does - and who says that you need to fight to earn money?"
Gabrielle clenched her hands together to form fists. "So help me, if he's gambling after what happened last time, I'll kill him!"
"You mean when those men beat him up?"
Xena looked at Jett but was not surprised he knew about the attack on Joxer. "Yeah, that's what she meant. I suppose you found out in prison."
Jett nodded but gave no more information. Xena turned back to her friend.
"Gabrielle, Joxer promised that he would never gamble again and I believe him. So let's go to town and see how he gets his money if it bothers you so much."
"You'd know if he wanted you to know. He would have told you already. Jox doesn't have much. He's got a very dysfunctional family - me included - and friends that aren't what they seem to be," Jett said.
Gabrielle's head shot up at his last words. "Are you saying we're not Joxer's friends?"
"I'm talking about other people. Look, what I'm trying to make clear is that you don't need to know how Jox is making his money as long as no one gets hurt." Jett got off the ground and walked away.
Xena was already climbing onto Argo. "Okay. Let's go meet up with Joxer."
Gabrielle nodded as she mounted Amber. Once Jett was settled on Thunder, they were on their way into town.
Joxer had just finished his last song and was taking a break. He slowly took a drink of his ale when he felt a rough hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see two guards staring at him. "Uh, can I help you?" he asked nervously.
"The king wishes to see you, musician."
"You must have me mistaken for someone else. I'm a warrior, not a musician," Joxer said and turned back around to take another drink from his mug of ale.
One of the guards roughly pulled him off the stool. "You don't and won't keep the king waiting. Now, musician!"
Joxer pulled himself from the guard's grip and dusted himself off. "Okay! Fine! I'll go with you."
As the guards led Joxer out, his friends rode in at the same time. Xena, seeing her friend being taken away by two very large guards, threw her chakram at one of the guards. It hit him on the breastplate, knocking him to the ground and stunning him. The other guard grabbed Joxer before he could get away. "I don't want to hurt him! The king wishes to see him."
"Why?" Xena asked, her ice-blue eyes blazing with fury as she put her weapon away.
"I don't know. He just said bring the musician."
"Fine! Let's see what the king wants already," Xena growled.
"What about the other guard?" Gabrielle asked.
"He'll be all right. I wasn't aiming to kill."
The guard then went over and helped the other guard, who was moaning softly, to his feet. "This way to the king," he said, making a motion down the main road.
Gabrielle went over to Joxer, fuming. "What did you manage to get yourself into this time? I swear, Joxer!" she shouted.
"Gabrielle, I have no idea why the king wants to see me. I didn't do anything!"
"You must've done something to get yourself in this mess!"
Joxer narrowed his eyes. "I didn't do anything except play my lute and sing in the tavern!" he snapped.
"If you sung your song, that's probably it."
"Gabrielle?" Xena interrupted.
"What?"
"Shut up and lay off Joxer. We have enough to worry about!"
Gabrielle's eyes narrowed in anger but she said no more as they all were taken before the king. To their complete surprise, the king was a little and rather jolly-looking roly-poly man. He had black hair, black eyes and wore an outfit made of gold silk. The guards bowed before him respectfully. Xena just stared at him in astonishment for a few moments until she found her voice. She opened her mouth to speak when the king ran over to Joxer and shook his hand profusely. Joxer's eyes opened wide and his jaw fell open in surprise as the king began pleading with him, all the while shaking his hand so hard that he wondered if the king was going to shake his arm off.
"You're the musician I heard about in town today! Your playing rivals the Gods themselves. You must help me, oh great musician! My daughter Meliai is prisoner of the God Apollo. He said that if anyone can play his harp, he'll let her go! Please, all the other musicians have failed!"
Joxer finally managed to find his voice and began to say something but Jett stopped him before he could utter a sound. "Look, I know what that harp does to a man but if he plays the wrong note. Even though Jox is good, he's not that good!"
Joxer's eyes glittered at the backhanded insult. "Hey! I can do this! I can play that harp."
Xena stepped in before an argument started up between the brothers. "Joxer, Jett's right. If you play one note wrong, you'll be encased in ice forever."
Joxer turned in her direction. "Xena, all my life I've wanted to be a hero and now's my chance. At least let me try. You would, no matter what the consequences were to yourself."
"But Joxer...!"
Joxer raised his hand before Gabrielle could say anything else. His posture straightened to full height as he gazed at the three standing around him. He sighed heavily, shaking his head. Then, in a very soft voice he said, "You all say that you believe in me, but when it comes down to the wire, you treat me like a child and tell me that I all I do is get in trouble and mess up." He swallowed hard and whispered, "You have no faith in me."
Gabrielle moved her foot, making a circle on the floor, and Jett just stared at his feet, neither one of them saying anything.
Xena sighed as she looked at the warrior wannabe. "Joxer, it's not that we have no faith in you... It's..."
"Well, what is it?" Joxer pressed.
"This is just beyond your skills."
Joxer glared at her, feeling a rare momentary surge of white-hot anger run through him and he felt his cheeks flushing as blood rushed to his face. "Fine! Thank you very much, Xena! You've just proved my point! I don't have to listen to you! You're not my boss!" he yelled, jabbing his finger in her direction.
Xena stared at Joxer, surprised at his angry outburst, as he turned back to the king. "I'll do it for you, Your Majesty. I'll play Apollo's harp and rescue your daughter," he said in a much calmer yet determined voice.
Gabrielle suddenly grabbed Joxer's arm, the anger from earlier long gone. Concern shone in her eyes instead as she said quietly, "Joxer, please don't do this. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."
Joxer hesitantly reached out and touched her softly on the cheek with a finger, staring into her emerald-green eyes. "Then for the first time since we've met, please have faith in me," he said quietly.
Gabrielle slowly nodded. "I'll try, but I'm coming with you."
Joxer wanted to reach out and take Gabrielle into his arms, but thought better of it, so he just nodded. "Xena, are you and Jett coming too?"
Xena and Jett exchanged glances before she turned her attention back to him. Her ice-blue eyes sparkled with worry, but she nodded slowly. "I'm not crazy about this, Joxer. You're putting yourself into danger, but yes, we're coming," she answered slowly.
"It's something that you do every day, Xena, so let me do this." Joxer paused for a moment. "Music is something that I know."
The king told Joxer everything he needed to know. Joxer thanked him, bowed his head in a gesture of respect and left. Xena, Jett, and Gabrielle followed behind him a short distance away.
As they walked from the palace and back to their horses, Gabrielle felt a strange longing in the pit of her stomach. She had suddenly wanted Joxer to take her in his arms while they were in the palace. She frowned as she thought about her clumsy but good friend. Traveling with Joxer lately had been making her feel strange at the oddest times - and it was simple things that he did or said that would set those feelings off. They weren't bad feelings, but made her feel good inside. They made her feel like when...
Perdicas... Oh Gods... Gabrielle's eyes widened in sudden realization. She then knew what those feelings meant all too well and it scared her. Was it possible that after all this time?
Gabrielle watched Joxer as he carefully mounted Speckle, who waited patiently as his master settled into the saddle. He's come such a long way from when we first met. I just hope that he can do this, she thought to herself. She maneuvered Amber forward so that she was riding next to Xena.
Xena turned in the bard's direction and saw that her face was very pale. "What is it, Gabrielle? Are you all right?" she asked with concern in her voice.
Gabrielle stared bleakly at Xena, her green eyes dark with worry. "Xena, I'm really scared for Joxer. You have to stop him from going through with this! Try to talk him out of it, hit him over the head with something! Anything..." she said desperately.
The Warrior Princess smiled warmly at her friend. "Gabrielle, if I could stop him I would. But if I did that, Joxer would never forgive any of us. You know that."
"But at least he'd be alive," Gabrielle replied softly.
End of Part One
