Chapter 2: One of Us
Author's Note: This story contains depictions of non-sexual F/f disciplinary spanking. If that's not your jam, go find some jelly. Canon-esque, set after S1:E9 "Death in Chains" and S1:E10 "Hooves and Harlots"
Right of Caste? I didn't know what that was, but Terreis wanted to give it to me so badly. Maybe she was hallucinating?
"I want you to have it, Gabrielle," she croaked again, grasping frantically at my shirt.
"Terreis!" Ephiny hissed, and I looked up confused, but then Terreis turned to her.
"I want her to have it," she cried, gasping at the effort it took to say it. She turned back to me, tears of pain falling down her cheeks. "Take it."
"Okay," I said, just hoping she would settle. "I'll take it. Just don't..try not to move."
She gasped and coughed, and there was blood on her mouth. The arrow was in her lung. Before I could call out for Xena, she fell limp in my arms and I knew that she was gone. The other Amazons, aside from Ephiny, went to their knees, and I looked into their horrified faces and then down at the beautiful, kind woman in my arms. I was too stunned to cry. Ephiny barked out a few orders and the Amazons created a circle of protection around us. I shook the body in my arms, then touched her lips as if I might be able to will the breath from them.
When I found my voice, there was only one word, and it was too soft: "Xena."
Where was she? I needed her here.
"XENA!" I cried, and this time the sound carried.
"Gabrielle!"
I looked up to see Xena pushing through the circle, looking panicked. She crouched down and grasped my face in her hands and I felt my chin trembling.
"Please," I sobbed. "Please help her."
I knew that she was dead, but some small part of me watched Xena as she examined Terreis with the expectation of a miracle. If anyone could bring her back, Xena could. But when I saw Xena lay Terreis' head down gently on the ground, saw the slump in her shoulders and heard the soft exhale, I knew that it was over. As the Amazons around me began to weep and sing to guide her spirit from her body, I felt Xena's eyes on me, but I couldn't bear to look.
Xena offered to make a litter for her, but Ephiny refused. Her sisters would carry her body home. Instead, Xena offered to ride ahead in advance of the group to scan the landscape for any continued threats. I had wanted to stay behind. It felt wrong, somehow, not to keep vigil over Terreis's body as it moved through the forest with the rest. But when Xena mounted and reached down for me to join her, I didn't have the strength to argue.
We rode slowly in silence, pausing at every ridge to allow the Amazons to catch up. As I became more weary, I had to hold on tighter to Xena's waist to remain on Argo, and I realized, suddenly, that my hands were quite empty. I gasped.
"What?" Xena asked, tensing.
"My staff. I left it behind."
"Well, I'm sure where we are headed, there'll be no shortage of practice staves for you."
"Can't even manage to hold on to it, much less use it," I said, a sulk in my voice. Xena didn't respond for some time, and I sighed and rested my forehead on her back.
"I'm sorry, Gabrielle," she said quietly. "I know that you really liked her."
She lowered her right hand from Argo's reins and let it rest over my clasped hands at her front, and the simple touch was enough to release the dam of tears I had been trying to hold back.
'I just don't understand why she had to die," I sniffed after a while, having seasoned the back of Xena's leather bodice with my tears and snot. "This wasn't a battle. We weren't doing anything wrong."
"No, perhaps not," Xena said, sadly. "But as much as the Amazons value learning and arts and philosophy, they are still a nation of Amazons are always in danger, and can be very dangerous. You can't forget that."
"Xena," I started, wanting to ask about what Terreis had wanted to give me, this right of caste. But something in her tone, the hint of disapproval and wariness of Amazon customs, made me hesitate. "I... nevermind."
"What is it?"
"Nothing," I said, wanting, for some reason, to keep the moment with Terreis to myself. "Only, why do you think Terreis liked me so much?"
I felt the chuckle in her ribcage: "Because everyone likes you, Gabrielle."
"That's not true," I said, wiping my eyes. "I don't think Ephiny likes me."
"Well, you're in good company at least. I don't think she likes anybody."
However, when we had arrived in the village, Ephiny was nowhere to be found. Xena and I waited for hours while Queen Melosa was informed of her sister's death and the Amazons made preparations for her burial. All around us, fierce women contributed in some way to the preparations: singing, dancing, lamenting, writing, and, strangely, sparring. Xena told me that these were qualifying fights for the tournament that would be held in Terreis's honor following the mourning period. It seemed strange to mark a violent death with more violence.
When Melosa came to us at long last, her face was unreadable, her grief hidden behind the intensity of her stare. She thanked me for trying to save her sister and thanked Xena for protecting their march back to the village with her body. She granted us safe passage, but advised that we go quickly, for Terreis' death would mean war. As if on cue, Ephiny arrived back in the village, having captured a centaur, Phantes, who she claimed had been retreating from Amazon lands with arrows that matched the ones we had been attacked with. Melosa ordered his execution without blinking, to be carried out the next day, as soon as the initial mourning period had passed.
But we did not leave. All afternoon, Xena left me to my own devices as she spoke with Phantes, Ephiny, and Melosa. She was agitated-convinced that the Amazons had the wrong creature. She knew Phantes' father, knew him to be honorable and wary of war. When she once again went to Melosa's hut to plead her case, I found myself being singled out by Ephiny.
"Gabrielle," she said, taking my elbow. "You didn't tell your friend about the right of caste, did you?"
"N-n-no," I stammered.
"Good," Ephiny said. "The right of caste should only be discussed by Amazons."
"I don't understand," I said, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I knew I shouldn't keep this from Xena. I didn't really trust Ephiny.
As if reading my mind, Ephiny softened her gaze: "The right of caste is a sacred thing. It's a very high honor. Melosa will want to discuss it with you later, but until then, it is between you and Terreis."
"Okay," I said again, and I could feel the spark of something powerful inside me. Whatever the right of caste was, it had made me important to Ephiny and to the Queen. Ephiny was no longer looking at me as a child. She even smiled when she left, which made my jaw drop. What was this?
"What's wrong?" I jumped at Xena's touch.
"What?" I squeaked. "Nothing."
She narrowed her eyes at me: "You look like you've seen a ghost. What did Ephiny want with you?"
Something about the way she said it-at once suspicious and dismissive-made me hold my tongue. Xena was pre-occupied with her defense of Phantes and had not invited me into her strategy at all. Ephiny had trusted me to keep the right of caste, whatever it was, to myself. If I told Xena, not only would Ephiny be angry, but Melosa too. I shrugged. "She just wanted to thank me again for trying to save Terreis."
"Are you keeping something from me, Gabrielle?" Xena said, and I looked up to see the arch of her eyebrow. She reached out to touch my forehead. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, Xena," I said, swatting her hand away. "I'm fine. Stop fussing."
She took the measure of me before continuing. "Alright, well, I'm going to see Phantes's father. You stay here." I started to protest, but she cut me off. "This is probably the safest place for you to be right now. The Amazons will protect you because of Terreis. Besides, I'm sure Tyldus still considers me an enemy. I'll be back before noon tomorrow. Stay out of trouble, and don't poke your nose in Amazon business. These women are itching for a fight right now. Is that clear?"
"Yes," I said, rolling my eyes at her condescending tone. I couldn't remember the last time Xena had left me behind and NOT told me to stay out of trouble, as if I was wholly untrustworthy. Of course, the last time I had gotten myself into trouble, she had let it go, as if it no longer mattered.
"Good," she said. As she mounted and took off out of the village, I felt a pang of regret. When I turned back to find Ephiny and Melosa waiting for me at the opening to the Queen's hut, it was more than a pang.
"So," I ventured, "Are we going to talk about this right of caste thing?"
Melosa took a breath, staring me up and down: "With her dying wish, Terreis bestowed upon you her rights and possessions, and...her position."
"Wait," I said, not believing what she was saying. "You mean, I'm an Amazon now?"
Melosa smiled, but not in a friendly way. Ephiny was back to scowling.
"Terreis was my true sister-the next in the royal line. You are an Amazon princess," she announced, clearly displeased. She looked at Ephiny. "Make sure she's taught."
I looked back, hoping that Xena had forgotten some important thing, or had changed her mind. But she was long gone. And I knew that I had found trouble.
XGXGXGXGXGXGXGX
"Gabrielle, what did I tell you about weapons? Get over here right now!"
The look on my little friend's face was pure relief and she looked ready to burst into tears. How on earth had she gotten herself into this position, sword trembling in her hand at Phantes' neck? I hooked my chakram back on my belt and glared at Queen Melosa who now had a vice-like grip on Gabrielle's arm.
"Gabrielle no longer answers to you, Xena."
My arm twitched at my side. Like Tartaurus she doesn't. I didn't want to harm the woman, but if she held Gabrielle hostage, I'd take her arm off with my chakram.
"Phantes is not the murderer, and I have proof," I said, then growling: "Now unhand her."
Luckily for Melosa, after a moment, she did so. Gabrielle jumped down from the platform, misjudging the distance and falling in a heap at my feet. I reached down to pull her up. Her face was red and she wouldn't look at me.
"Nothing to tell me, huh?" I said, fighting the urge to swat her. I had known she was withholding something from me. I had thought it some small embarrassment, not something that would land her in this kind of a pickle.
"I'm sorry, Xena," she said softly, braving a glance at me.
I tried not to reveal my full ire, not in the present company. "What's all this, Gabrielle?"
She bit her bottom lip and winced: "I'm an Amazon princess?"
I let go of my breath, trying to work out quickly how that might have happened. Terreis must have given Gabrielle her right of caste, and if she was her caste holder, she was also, according to Amazon law, responsible for avenging Terreis's death. She was in quite the bind, but at least it wasn't what I had first feared: that Gabrielle had been somehow brainwashed into violence by these centaur-hating women..
"Great," I said, tossing the bag of droppings into her hands. "I'll deal with you later."
Gabrielle gulped and turned back towards Melosa, opening up the bag and examining its contents.
"The proof's in the pouch," I said. "Ephiny and I found this where we were attacked. It has hay sprouts in it. Centaurs don't eat hay."
"Don't eat?" Gabrielle said, holding the droppings in her hands, and I fought back the smile as the realization hit her and she dropped it, spinning around towards me. "Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome," I deadpanned, not taking my eyes off Melosa.
"It proves nothing," Melosa said. "The execution will proceed. Gabrielle, you must do your duty, or suffer the consequences. Eponin!"
A tall, dark-haired Amazon, handed the sword to Gabrielle, who looked up at me with a heart-rending expression of terror, pleading with me to intervene. Oh, Little Bard, I thought, you do get yourself into such messes.
"Queen Melosa! I demand the challenge," I said, stepping forward, hoping that Gabrielle knew enough about Amazon law to understand what she needed to do. "The Royal Challenge must be honored."
Melosa shook her head: "Only when it is made by someone of royal Amazon blood. You are not even one of us."
I waited on Gabrielle, who was still looking nervously between us. After several painful exchanges of not-so-subtle non-verbal cues, she finally got what she needed to do. She turned slowly to Melosa.
"I demand the challenge," she said, overselling her feigned self-confidence. "I'm an Amazon Princess. You can't refuse me."
I put my hand to my chakram in case Melosa decided to react badly to Gabrielle's insolence. But Queen Melosa did not move, only twisted her head and gave Gabrielle the condescending smile she had earned.
"Gabrielle, do you want to fight me to the death?" Melosa asked.
Gabrielle's shoulders went tense, and I sighed. They might have dressed her up as an Amazon during my absence, but they had obviously not explained to her the rules of combat.
"No," she squeaked. "Not really."
Ephiny spoke up at my shoulder: "You made the challenge, Gabrielle. You have to follow through. Choose your weapon or...choose...your champion."
"Choose my champion?" she asked, still confused. I kept my eyes on Melosa, trusting Ephiny to help Gabrielle. Luckily it worked. Gabrielle ran back to us, turned around and said, with no small amount of relief in her voice: "I choose Xena."
Melosa nodded curtly: "If you lose, you all die. You too Ephiny."
Ephiny nodded back, swallowing hard, before turning to me. I had a sudden newfound respect for this woman, who was willing to sacrifice her own life to prevent a miscarriage of justice at the hands of a woman that she most likely loved.
"Melosa fights low," she whispered. "She goes for the knees. She's got a blind side on her right, but she's quick and is careful not to leave it open."
"Don't worry, Ephiny," Gabrielle piped up, "she knows what she's doing. You haven't seen her fight. I've seen her fight a lot and she'll have…"
"Gods, she's annoying," Ephiny said, pushing Gabrielle to the side. "How have you put up with her?"
"Hey," Gabrielle protested, "she puts up with me just fine."
I took the measure of my little friend briefly. I knew that she was just blowing off her nervous energy, and usually it amused me, but I was feeling on edge. I was not doubting my ability to defeat Melosa, but I was mistrustful of the general company. Ephiny had come around to see reason, but I was not so sure about the other women around me. If they did not honor the challenge, I worried about what could happen to this newly minted little princess.