Xenia woke up to crying, It was Camilla, and Ares was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared on godly duties she assumed, leaving her alone with the baby.
She cursed him under her breath even as she went over to take care of her. She was dry. She tried nursing her, but that's not what she wanted. This was where her know-how with infants ended. It wasn't by accident that no one in her tribe had ever asked her to babysit.
They made her uncomfortable, and she was sure she made them just as uncomfortable. Being the mother of one didn't make it less so or endow her with some kind of motherly wisdom that made her know how to calm the child down.
"Please, stop crying," she begged uselessly.
Not knowing what else to do, she started walking around with her, which instantly quieted Camilla. She couldn't help the chuckle. "Was that all? You've got wanderlust. Can't say I blame you. You inherited it honestly." She did feel warmly toward the child when she wasn't testing her lung power. When the cries came, it was another story as she made it impossible to think straight, and she cried a lot.
Was it terrible that she felt that way toward a helpless babe? But it wasn't Camilla. Where had all the anger and rage inside her come from?
Take that girl for instance. She was just some teenager with high ideals, and she'd wanted to kill her to shut out her voice. What had happened to her policy of not harming youths or women?
Maybe when all the warring was done, she would feel differently. When a world emerged that was under her control and less chaotic, she could afford to show a little kindness.
And speaking of chaos, Camilla started to cry again, intruding on her thoughts and dashing her hopes of sleep. "Where are you, Ares?"
sss
Ares had come to the realization that he'd been going all about this the wrong way. He couldn't just stick Gabrielle in her life and expect things to happen the same way they did before. Things never happened the same way twice. As much as he'd dressed her up and taught her old skills and ensured she would conquer as she had before, she wasn't the same as Aphrodite had once pointed out to him. She had different life experiences and memories.
If he wanted her to be less evil and more Xena, if he wanted to set her on a path of light or redemption or goodness, whatever you wanted to call it, why try so hard to write an old story? She just had to remember being Xena and then bam! Problem solved.
So he went where he could get some help, to the Fates.
"I need a thread," he announced.
"We don't have a loom anymore," Clotho reminded him.
"I know, I know. I'm looking for an old thread-"
"Xena's," they answered together.
Was he really so predictable or was it just because they were the Fates?
"Yes, Xena's."
"You want to restore her memory," Lachesis said..
Sometimes their clairvoyance could be really annoying. "I do."
"You own her soul," Atropos said. "I don't see why you shouldn't have it," she said, going over to the vast collection of threads.
He was thankful he couldn't see the future. He was dreading giving her the thread, yet, he knew he had to do it. It was the only way to make things right.
As soon as it was in hand, he immediately rematerialized in Xenia's tent before he changed his mind. She looked a little haggard but a new baby and an impending battle could do that to you.
"I have a gift for you," he announced. "An early Christmas present if you will."
"A Christmas present from the god of war?" she asked with a smirk. "This should be interesting. What is it?"
He held it up for her to see.
"A string? Is it some kind of godly fibers for my bow?"
"Good guess, but this is a life thread woven by the Fates. It's one of your former lives. You touch it, and you'll remember everything."
"Why would I want to remember a life that doesn't concern me now?"
He wished for once that she would just take and do what he said, instead of questioning every little thing. "You want to remember this life. Trust me. It will help you to have all the knowledge and skills you had then, a real advantage."
"You think I can't defeat the Byzantine Empire," she said accusingly.
He lost his patience. "By the gods! Would you just take it already?"
She rolled her eyes at his anger, but she held out her hand. "Fine. Hand it over."
He saw the change right away as soon as it touched her. It wasn't that her essence changed for her soul was already there, but her old confidence seemed to seep into her muscles and she breathed in deeply as if it was the first clean breath she'd taken in a long time.
"You deceitful scumbag," she said. "You filthy son of a-"
"You really shouldn't swear in front of the baby," he said, interrupting her tirade and hoping to inject some humor.
So instead, she curled up her fingers and socked him right in the jaw.
Yep, that was the Xena he knew and loved.
