Part Eight
After breakfast the now fresh and ready-to-go travelers re-started their trip.
It was high noon when the group arrived in the Amazon village. Rhea and Eris
both ran over to them. "Gabrielle! Can I feel the baby?" Rhea energetically
cried.
Eris exclaimed excitedly, "We're so glad you came! I can't believe it! A baby's
going to be born right here in our village!"
"That's enough, you two! It's not like that it's the first time it's happened
here before," said Cyane as she came over to greet the travelers. "Welcome back,
friends. You must be tired from your long journey. Huts have been prepared for
you. Eris and Rhea will take you there."
Joxer looked at Cyane. "Will Gabrielle and I be together?" he asked nervously.
Cyane smiled a little. "Are you still married?"
"Yes," Joxer replied without hesitation.
"Then why would you ask me such a silly question? I will see you all after you
have rested. As for now, I have things that need my attention." And with that,
Cyane walked away.
Xena picked up Eve. "Okay, let's go see where we'll be staying, huh?" Eve
giggled happily and Xena laughed.
Rhea and Eris took them over to a group of huts. Eris ran over to the biggest
one. "Gabrielle and Joxer, this is your hut. Rhea and I decorated it for you."
Joxer and Gabrielle stuck their heads inside to look and blinked at what they
saw. They exchanged glances and Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders slightly. Joxer
nodded and placed his arm around her shoulders as they turned around.
Not noticing the couple's reaction to the elaborate decoration inside their
designated hut, Rhea went over to the next hut. "And this one is for you, Xena,
along with Eve and Arose."
Both of the young girls looked at Jace and Ricky. Eris walked over to Jace.
"When Gabrielle sent word that you all were coming, she told us about you being
an honorary Amazon so this hut is yours, and since Arose and her consort are not
married, he can stay with you."
Jace smiled. "That sounds fair to me." Ricky nodded in agreement.
"Oh, we're going to have so much fun before the baby comes! There's going to be
so much dancing!" cried Rhea.
"Uh, hold on a minute there, Rhea. I really can't do any dancing in this
condition!" Gabrielle objected, putting her hand on top of her swollen stomach.
"Oh, don't worry, Gabrielle! You don't have to. Joxer will be doing the
dancing," Rhea explained with a smile.
"Uh, what kind of dancing?" Joxer asked, his dark eyes growing wide with worry.
"And when? Tonight?" His voice shot up a couple of octaves at the last question.
"No, not tonight." Jace walked over to Joxer and put his hand on Joxer's
shoulder then patted it in reassurance. "She's talking about the dance to make
sure the new baby - or in this case, babies - is strong and healthy that gets
performed close to the birth. Don't worry, Joxer. I know the steps and I'll
teach you. By the time I'm finished, you'll be dancing like a pro!"
"There will be dancing tonight to celebrate your return to the village," Eris
explained. "In fact, there's a series of celebrations planned throughout the
next couple of weeks at least." She smiled at Joxer. "You don't have to dance
tonight." Her smile widened at Joxer's look of relief and she turned to gaze at
Rhea before turning back to look at the rest of the group. "The rest of you are
more than welcome to dance in tonight's celebration though," she said. Jace's
face lit up in a huge smile at the invitation and he nodded eagerly.
Xena's eyebrow rose. "I don't dance," she stated firmly.
"But..." Eris was about to protest when she saw the look on Xena's face and her
mouth snapped shut. She and Rhea exchanged nervous glances before they excused
themselves and quickly walked away. Arose raised her hand to her mouth to hide a
sudden smile that came to her lips.
"Xena! You didn't have to scare them!" Gabrielle scolded as she scowled at her
friend.
Xena's ice-blue eyes glittered. "Who said that I scared them? I merely said that
I don't dance," she replied mildly. She gently kissed Eve on her forehead.
"C'mon, Evie. Let's see what's inside our new hut. What do you think of that,
sweetie?" she crooned, walking away from the rest of the group and entering the
hut. Arose followed close behind her, still trying not to laugh.
"Hoo boy," Gabrielle said, shaking her head a little.
One month after arriving in the Amazon Village:
"Hi, Arose! Hi, Ricky! Have you seen Xena this morning?" Gabrielle asked
curiously as she emerged from her and Joxer's hut wearing a new dress that would
accommodate her ever-growing stomach. "Joxer said just before Jace came to get
him that he hadn't seen her around at all." She put a hand on her stomach and
patted it absently, smiling as she felt a kick underneath her hand. "And where's
Eve?"
Arose and Ricky looked up at the sound of Gabrielle's voice and smiled. Ricky
put down the new arrow that he was making while Arose stopped putting a feather
on a new ceremonial mask. "I haven't seen either one of them this morning,
Gabrielle," Ricky answered in his soft, gentle voice.
"Gee, I haven't either. Sorry, Gabrielle," Arose apologized.
"Thanks anyway," Gabrielle said with a smile. She began walking towards the
village center when she came upon Eris, who, along with several girls, was
carrying a sack of laundry to be washed down at the stream. "Good morning, Eris!
Have you seen Xena and Eve this morning?" she asked.
Eris turned around, stopped following a couple of the younger members of the
tribe heading towards the stream and bowed a little in a gesture of respect.
"Yes, Queen Gabrielle. Rhea is watching Eve and some of the other babies in the
camp this morning," she explained with a smile.
"Oh, that's good. So, where's Xena?"
Eris' smile faded. "I'm not really sure. She headed in that direction," the
young woman pointed towards the woods. Gabrielle noticed that Eris' finger was
shaking a little as she indicated the direction Xena had walked in and her
eyebrow rose. Eris gulped before continuing with a soft, "She was carrying an
axe." She hurried off to join her companions before Gabrielle could say another
word.
Gabrielle shook her head and sighed. "Ohh-kay." She rolled her eyes and began
walking in the direction that Eris had pointed in. She walked for some time down
the path, stopping every so often to take a little rest before she finally heard
the sound of someone hitting something against a tree. She walked for a little
bit longer when she finally saw Xena chopping away at the trunk of a very large
tree. She walked forward a few more paces before she finally came to a stop. "Hi
Xena."
"Gabrielle," Xena grunted in reply as she jerked her arms back and swung
ferociously at the tree. The axe-head met the trunk with a satisfying WHAM.
Xena's lips twisted up in a little smile as she put her arms back and swung at
the tree again.
"Xena... Is there something bothering you?" Gabrielle asked finally after
watching her friend for a few minutes in silence.
"What on Earth would" - WHAM - "give you" - WHAM - "that crazy idea,
Gabrielle?" WHAM! The trunk cracked at the last blow and the two women
hurriedly moved away as the tree fell down in the opposite direction with a loud
thud. Xena mopped her forehead then turned around to face Gabrielle, who had
crossed her arms over her ample stomach and tapped her foot on the grass.
"Xena..." Gabrielle said in a disapproving tone.
Xena dropped the axe and threw up her arms in exasperation. "What do you want me
to say, Gabrielle? That I'm blissfully happy to endure Community Laundry Day and
elaborate but weird ceremonies that involve howling and feathers every night?
I'd do anything for you and Joxer, you know that, but living like this is slowly
but surely driving me insane!" she exclaimed. "All these rules and
traditions..." she growled as she paced back and forth restlessly. "I'm bored
out of my mind!"
"I know you are, Xena, and I can't thank you enough for doing this," Gabrielle
said in a soothing voice. "I appreciate it. Really, I do."
Xena stopped her pacing and gazed at Gabrielle for a few moments before smiling
crookedly and walking over to stand in front of her. She reached out to take
Gabrielle in an embrace. "I'm sorry, Gabrielle. I'm just frustrated, I guess,"
she sighed.
Gabrielle returned the embrace and patted Xena on the back. "I know - and
something's bound to happen sooner or later with Joxer, Jace, Arose and Ricky
here to upset the apple cart!"
"I hope that it happens soon!" Xena mumbled, making Gabrielle laugh. "Anything
to break the routine," she added in as they broke the hug.
Gabrielle nodded. "So, are you going to come back for lunch?" she asked as her
stomach growled loudly.
Xena shook her head. "Nahh... I think I need to get a little more frustration
out," she said, pointing to the fallen tree and picking up the axe with a
slightly crazed expression on her face.
Gabrielle chuckled and nodded. "Okay, Xena. I'll see you later then." Xena
didn't respond - she was already too busy hacking at a tree limb. Gabrielle
shook her head a little, sighed deeply, and began walking back towards the
village.
Six weeks later
"So, Joxer... Are you ready for tonight's ceremony?" Cyane asked as the group
sat down at one of the large tables for breakfast.
Joxer paled slightly and his hands shook as he lifted up his mug of water.
"Yes," he managed to answer in a relatively steady voice.
"Good," Cyane said with an odd little smile. "I'm sure that you will please our
Goddess Artemis greatly with your dancing." She picked up her fork and dove into
her scrambled eggs with relish.
Joxer nodded and took a huge drink of water, using both hands to hold the mug as
he drank. A little water spilled from his mug as he set it back down on the
table with a thump. Gabrielle reached out to pat his shoulder and he smiled
weakly at her. She returned the smile and took his hand in hers. She placed his
hand over her stomach and he smiled as he felt movement underneath his hand. He
leaned over and kissed Gabrielle passionately, forgetting about everything for a
moment. She returned the kiss with equal fervor, cupping his face with her free
hand.
"Awww," Rhea sighed dreamily, smiling at the couple as she placed her elbows on
the table and rested her chin atop her hands. Cyane raised her head to stare at
the girl and cleared her throat loudly in disapproval. Rhea blinked in surprise
and quickly turned her attention away from the couple and back to her breakfast.
Xena rolled her eyes and rose to her feet.
"Is there something the matter with your breakfast, Xena?" Cyane asked as Joxer
and Gabrielle gazed up at her in alarm.
"No. It's fine. I suddenly realized that I'm really not that hungry after all,"
Xena said through tightly clenched teeth. "Arose, would you and Ricky mind
watching Evie for a little bit? I have to... do something." She stalked from the
table before anybody could say a word in response.
"Sure Xena!" Arose called out to the retreating warrior princess' figure. She
turned to Eve and smiled widely. "We'll have lots of fun today, won't we?"
Eve giggled and nodded. "Uh huh, Auntie Arose!" She turned to look at Xena
before turning back to the others. "Is Mommy mad, Auntie Gabby?"
"No, honey. She just has something that she needs to do," Gabrielle reassured
Eve with a smile.
"Involving a tree," Ricky muttered before he could stop himself. He stifled a
yelp when Arose suddenly elbowed him on his upper right arm. He turned to glare
at her and say something when Jace wiped his mouth with a napkin and rose to his
feet gracefully.
"Remember that you wanted to get in one last practice session before tonight's
ceremony, little brother?" Jace reminded Joxer.
Joxer sighed and rolled his eyes as he also rose up from the table. "Will you
stop calling me that?" he grumbled.
Jace shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Old habits die hard," he said as he
walked over and put his arm around Joxer's shoulder.
Joxer sighed again. "I suppose. C'mon. Let's go. See you later, Gabrielle."
Joxer leaned down to kiss Gabrielle on the cheek before the brothers began
walking from the table. Cyane cleared her throat once more. They turned around
to gaze curiously at her.
"I just wanted to remind you that the ceremony begins precisely at sundown,
Joxer," Cyane said. "I'm sure that you will honor Artemis and Queen Gabrielle
with your best efforts."
Joxer felt his mouth go dry and he licked his lips. "Of course." He and Jace
left the breakfast table, speaking in low voices. Gabrielle watched them leave
with a concerned expression before she turned around to finish her breakfast.
"I'm sure that everything will be fine, Gabrielle," Ricky said in a reassuring
voice.
"I know that, Ricky. I just wish that someone could convince Joxer," Gabrielle
sighed. She looked down at her half-eaten breakfast before she turned her
attention back to the couple and Eve. "So," she said brightly. "Is there
anything special that you two are planning on doing today?"
"Not really. I have to get ready for tonight's ceremony too once Xena comes
back," Arose answered after finishing the last of her eggs. "Ricky, don't you
have to help out with setting up the talking drums in the village center?"
"Yes - and I'm playing one of them too because Lucinda twisted her wrist pretty
badly from that fall she had while helping out with yesterday's hunt. Hippolyta
said that she needs to rest it, so Lucinda won't be able to play tonight," Ricky
nodded.
"That's great!" Arose exclaimed with a huge smile as she rose to her feet. She
realized what she said and her cheeks turned red as she gazed at Cyane, who was
glaring up at her. "I meant to say that it's great that Ricky can take over for
her on such short notice," she explained hastily.
Cyane nodded curtly as Arose, Ricky and Eve left the table, Eve running ahead of
the couple, laughing. She watched them in silence before turning around and also
rising to her feet. "I have some urgent matters that I must attend to before
getting ready for tonight's ceremony," she said softly. She inclined her head
forward in Gabrielle's direction before turning around and heading for her hut.
Gabrielle and Rhea watched her leave in silence before they exchanged glances
and Rhea smiled weakly. "Nerves," she explained, shrugging her shoulders
helplessly as she rose to her feet and began clearing the breakfast dishes away.
"I don't know, Jace. Are you sure I look okay?" Joxer asked fretfully as he
anxiously paced back and forth in Jace and Ricky's hut.
"Joxer! Trust me, you look fine - and you did great at practice today," Jace
quickly reassured Joxer with a huge smile. "I need you to help me put this on,"
he said, turning around and picking up an elaborately feathered headdress.
"Okay," Joxer agreed, taking it from Jace's outstretched hands. "Wow, this thing
is heavy!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah. That's why I need you to help me put it on," Jace nodded in agreement. "I
can't tell if I've got it on correctly or not without a full-length mirror." He
leaned down a bit so Joxer could place it on his head. He reached up and
adjusted it about his head before he felt that it was on securely. "Is it on
straight?" he asked finally as he rose up to full height.
Joxer gazed at Jace carefully for a few moments before nodding. "Yep."
Jace smiled and walked over to Joxer, putting his arms around his brother for a
hug. "You'll be fine," he murmured, patting Joxer's back.
Joxer returned the hug and sighed. "Thanks. I needed that." He looked up when
the sound of a ram's horn echoed through the village.
"That's the signal to join the others," Jace said as they broke the embrace and
began walking towards the hut's entrance. He turned around to gaze at Joxer,
raising his eyebrows. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, Jace," Joxer replied in a rough voice as they exited
the hut and began walking over to where the core group of Amazon dancers was
starting to assemble. Arose, dressed in her new costume, flashed a smile at
Joxer and Jace before turning around to gaze at Cyane, who held a staff and wore
an even more elaborate headdress than Jace was wearing.
Cyane gazed at the brothers coolly. "I am pleased," she said finally before a
second horn call echoed throughout the village. "AMAZONS!" she yelled and turned
around and proudly began walking towards the village center. The women let out a
group cry and began following behind Cyane in pairs, Joxer and Jace taking up
the rear.
Xena sat down on a bench next to Gabrielle, who was seated on an elaborately
decorated throne. She pulled a giggling Eve onto her lap and gazed at her
friend, who was watching the path where the dancers would walk down to start the
ceremony with a worried expression on her face. "Gabrielle?" Xena queried.
Gabrielle jumped a little in her seat. "Huh? Oh! Hi, Xena. I didn't see you and
Eve sit down next to me," she stammered as she turned to face her dark-haired
friend.
Xena's eyes began twinkling. "Obviously not," she replied, trying not to smile.
"Joxer's going to be fine, Gabrielle. Jace said that he's been practicing very
hard for this ceremony." She gazed up into the sky and saw that the sun was
beginning to set. "It shouldn't be much longer before things start up."
"Yeah," Gabrielle nodded in agreement. "I know that Joxer's going to be fine."
Her face brightened a little. "I wonder what he'll be wearing for the ceremony,"
she mused.
"I'm sure that feathers somehow will be involved," Xena replied, wrinkling her
nose and rolling her eyes in disgust. Gabrielle began laughing when she saw the
look on Xena's face and rubbed her stomach as the babies kicked. Xena looked up
at her and began laughing too, shaking her head. Eve giggled along with them,
clapping her hands together as more Amazons gathered around the village center,
some sitting down while others, dressed in ceremonial costumes and masks stood
around talking quietly. Another small group lit up several torches that were
placed safely outside the semi-circle.
The musicians arrived a few minutes later. Ricky, dressed in a simple sleeveless
tunic, dark brown breeches and boots, joined them at one of the talking drums.
Eris placed a ram's horn to her mouth and blew a long, clear note. The audience
immediately grew quiet in anticipation. Eris blew the horn again and a moment
later, a loud cry echoed in their direction.
"Here we go," Xena muttered as the drummers began a slow, staccato beat and
cymbals clashed together.
"Shh!" Gabrielle hissed as a low chanting started up from the women waiting in
the village center. Xena shrugged her shoulders and turned towards the path
where Cyane and the group of dancers would arrive.
Rhea, who was acting as lookout, ran into the village center and signaled to the
musicians that the group was coming. The beat picked up then and the chanting
grew louder. Gabrielle moved a little in her seat as Cyane regally led the
procession into the village center.
The dancers, walking behind Cyane in pairs, split up to walk in opposite
directions and began forming a circle. Arose smiled in Gabrielle, Xena and Eve's
direction before turning to face the circle of stones.
Gabrielle craned her neck, frowning worriedly as she looked for Joxer and Jace.
"Where are they?" she muttered with a worried note to her voice. An appreciative
wolf-whistle from the opposite side of the village center suddenly cut through
the chanting at that moment.
Xena felt her lips twitch involuntarily when she heard Gabrielle growl
possessively under her breath as Joxer and Jace, who were bringing up the rear,
entered the village center. She saw that both brothers were dressed in simple
tan deerskin fringed breeches and matching fringed knee-length boots. She also
saw the reason why Gabrielle growled - both brothers were shirtless, although
Jace wore several beaded necklaces around his neck and a huge feathered Amazon
headdress on his head in his own unique sense of style, while Joxer wore the
single leather necklace that Gabrielle gave him for a wedding present and two
feathers were placed carefully in his hair. Poor Joxer. Even HE couldn't escape
the feathers, Xena thought to herself in silent amusement as the dancers
finished forming the circle, facing the audience as the drumming and chanting
came to a halt.
Another loud wolf-whistle cut through the village. Joxer's cheeks flamed with
embarrassment while Gabrielle grumbled several not-too-nice words under her
breath and Cyane glared at the audience, trying to figure out who was making the
ruckus.
"Mommy, Uncle Joxer and Uncle Jace look nice, don't they?" Eve whispered.
"Yes they do, honey," Xena whispered back, kissing her daughter fondly on the
cheek and hugging her close. Eve wrapped her arms around her mother and returned
the embrace, watching the dancers curiously.
Cyane thumped the end of her ceremonial staff on the ground and proclaimed in a
loud, clear voice, "Tonight we are gathered to celebrate the upcoming birth of
Queen Gabrielle and her consort Joxer's twin children. May these children
greatly please our Goddess Artemis and be born strong and healthy so that they
will become great citizens of the mighty Amazon Nation!"
A loud cry of approval echoed through the village and Eris blew a loud, clear
note on her ram's horn. Cyane nodded in the musicians' direction as someone from
the audience took her staff. The drummers re-started playing the slow, staccato
beat from earlier and the chanting began. The dancers turned around, joined
hands and slowly began moving around in the circle, raising their arms and
stepping to the beat.
Xena and Gabrielle watched the dancers in silence as the steps became more
complex and the music started going faster in tempo while Eve happily clapped to
the beat. Xena could see Joxer mouthing something to himself and then realized
that he was counting the steps so he could keep in time with the rest of the
group.
Gabrielle looked on proudly as Joxer finally seemed to relax a little and it
appeared that he was beginning to enjoy himself as he wove in and out with the
other dancers. Other Amazons began joining the core group of dancers as the beat
got faster and the chanting grew louder. She noticed that as the beat became
faster and more complex, so did the steps. She lost sight of Joxer as more and
more dancers joined the circle, although she did see Jace dancing wildly at one
point, his head flung back and his many necklaces sparkling in the firelight
from the nearby torches before he whirled around with a huge smile on his face
and got lost in the crowd again.
Joxer, who was dancing in the middle of the circle, was starting to get very hot
from all the dancing and his stomach began to feel a little queasy. He began
wondering how much longer the dancing ceremony would last. To his dismay, the
music became louder and faster as he whirled around. Sweat rolled down his face
in torrents and he blinked hard when a few drops fell into his eyes, the
saltiness making them sting.
Distantly, Joxer saw Arose dancing at the edge of the circle and she flashed a
smile in his direction. He felt his lips move upward to return it before he
turned around and began dancing towards the outer edge of the circle, not
noticing the concerned look on her face. The music and chanting kept getting
louder and faster and he found that he was having trouble focusing on his
movements. He blinked fiercely as he kept whirling around, still moving towards
the outer edge of the circle, getting dizzier by the moment.
Joxer lost count of his steps and stumbled to the side, hitting against a dancer
who shouted out in surprise and smacked into another dancer. They fell to the
ground in a tangle of limbs as the two women brought down another dancer in the
process. He stumbled again as he dizzily held a hand to his forehead, this time
stepping on another dancer's foot. She yelped and quickly moved away from him,
pushing into another dancer, who lost her balance and fell onto the ground with
a loud yell.
"Gabrielle, something's wrong," Xena muttered, her eyebrows furrowing together
in a frown when she saw a commotion break out near the outer edge of the
dancers' circle.
Gabrielle carefully stood up, craning her neck as she saw several dancers break
formation and fall to the side. "Oh no," she whispered, covering her mouth.
"AMAZONS! STOP!" Cyane roared from the inner circle. The drumbeat and chanting
slowly came to a halt and the dancers who were still standing moved away while
the other dancers who had fallen to the side moaned painfully.
Gabrielle's jaw dropped in complete astonishment when she saw Jace sitting on
the ground with his headdress askew, looking about in puzzlement. "What
happened?" she asked, moving towards the group.
"That... That... man! That's what happened!" Cyane fumed, her fists clenching
together as she gazed at her fallen comrades. "That idi..."
"Don't you say another word!" Gabrielle warned Cyane, her eyes narrowing and
turning a dark emerald shade in the firelight. She looked around the village
center, trying to see where Joxer was and grew worried when she didn't see him.
"Xena, I don't see him anywhere! Joxer? Joxer?" she called out anxiously, her
voice raising as she called out her husband's name. "JOXER!"
There was no response from her husband. Arose, who was helping Jace to his feet,
softly volunteered, "Gabrielle, when I saw him earlier, he looked like he was
getting dizzy..."
Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances before Gabrielle straightened up to full
height and nodded. "Do you want me to look for him, Gabrielle?" Xena asked.
"No. I think I know where he is," Gabrielle answered in a determined voice,
shaking her head.
"Okay," Xena nodded and watched as Gabrielle turned around and headed away from
the village center before turning around and walking over to assist anybody who
needed help.
Gabrielle walked up to the entrance of her and Joxer's hut and sighed quietly to
herself, seeing that it was enshrouded in darkness. She entered the hut and lit
a candle before turning around to see Joxer sitting cross-legged in the furthest
corner of the hut, his head hanging low and his mouth jutted out in a sad pout.
His arms were crossed limply over his legs and his hands lightly touched the
ground. She gazed down at the dejected figure of her husband for a few moments
before she murmured, "Oh, Joxer..."
"I did it again. I screwed up," Joxer whispered, still staring at the ground.
Gabrielle frowned at his words and shook her head. "Joxer, look at me," she said
quietly. "Please?" she asked when he didn't move.
Slowly, Joxer raised his head to gaze up at Gabrielle. She saw with dismay that
Joxer's dark eyes were filled with tears that he tried to blink away, but one
fell down his left cheek before he could stop it. He wiped at his face
carelessly and sighed, turning away from her clear-eyed gaze. "I'm sorry,
Gabrielle. I didn't mean to mess up the ceremony..."
"Joxer," Gabrielle interrupted him before he could continue babbling an apology.
"Dance with me."
Joxer immediately stopped talking to gaze up at Gabrielle, goggle-eyed.
"W-w-what?" he stammered finally after a minute of stunned silence.
Gabrielle smiled at Joxer and held her hands out to him. "I want you to dance
with me," she repeated.
Hesitantly, Joxer held out his hands and Gabrielle helped him to his feet. She
looked Joxer over appraisingly and nodded. "You look so handsome in that
outfit," she said in a husky voice, running her hands over his lean but muscular
chest. "I could've belted whoever kept whistling at you though," she growled
possessively, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against
his chest so that she could listen to his heartbeat. "You're my man," she
breathed, missing Joxer blush furiously as he wrapped his arms around her in an
embrace.
Joxer gently kissed the top of her head, taking in the soft scent of daisies and
vanilla from her last oil bath before he moved back a step. Gabrielle made a
soft noise of protest until he carefully took her left hand in his right hand
and slid his arm against her back. He smiled and reminded her softly, "You said
you wanted to dance."
"Yes I did," Gabrielle replied, returning the smile.
Slowly, the couple began moving back and forth in the hut in a simple box step
pattern, Joxer humming to himself at first before he began singing a ballad that
was popular a few years back in Athens in his rich voice. Gabrielle's smile
widened as they gazed into each other's eyes and continued to dance.
"Where are they?" Cyane growled as she watched her tribe sisters collect
themselves and begin to take down the ceremonial poles and other assorted
decorations that had been strung up for the dance. "That idiot completely ruined
tonight's ceremony!"
"Don't talk about my brother like that!" Arose snapped. Cyane turned around to
glare at her and the girl quailed at her angry gaze. Ricky placed an arm around
Arose's shoulders and returned the glare defiantly.
Cyane opened her mouth to chew Ricky out for his disrespectful attitude when one
of the dancers ran up, bowing slightly. "My Queen, there's light coming from
Queen Gabrielle and Joxer's hut," she reported.
Cyane shoved the dancer aside without a word and began storming towards their
hut. Xena picked up a sleepy Eve in her arms as she and Jace exchanged glances.
They immediately followed the angry Queen, Ricky, Arose, Eris and Rhea hot at
their heels.
Cyane skidded to a halt at the open hut flap and stared in silent astonishment
at the sight and sound of Joxer singing sweetly to Gabrielle as they slowly
danced around the middle of the hut. Jace and Xena exchanged grins as they
watched the couple dancing while Arose gently put her head against Ricky's
chest. Eris and Rhea smiled and sighed sentimentally before they turned around
and walked away.
The rest of the group watched for another minute or so in silence before Cyane
slowly turned around and walked away from the hut. The others followed behind
her until she came to a halt in the middle of the path. "I can't yell at him. I
just can't," Cyane mumbled finally, shaking her head in disbelief. "He's a dork,
but he's the sweetest damn dork I've ever met." She shook her head once more and
headed for her hut.