"What are you doing?" Ares asked as she began packing her bag.
"What does it look like?" Xena retorted. She couldn't believe he even had the nerve to ask. How did he expect her to react after finding out that he'd manipulated her yet again. But what else was new?
"You're just going to up and leave without even talking about this?" he asked, anger seeping into his voice.
It flared up her poorly contained rage, and she whirled around to face him. "You wouldn't want to hear what I have to say."
He started to move in closer, and she pulled out her sword.
"There's no need for that."
"There's every need. I don't want you near me."
He stayed where he was, but he asked, "What about your army? You can't just up and leave them. What are you going to say? 'Go home, everybody. There'll be no conquering today.'"
"I think you mean your army, don't you? You practically handpicked them. Why didn't I listen to that fortune teller in Constantinople? Do you know all the blood I have on my hands now because of you?"
"I never once forced you to hold a sword, sweetheart."
"No, but you might as well have held my sword. Teaching me the way of the warrior."
"That's all I did. In fact, I even tried warning you against some of your slaughters if you'll remember."
"You didn't try hard enough. You could have told me everything. Hercules did even though I was too stupid to listen."
"Who do you think brought you the thread? It wasn't your old pal, Herc. If nothing else, think about our child."
"Oh, I am."
She made a move for the crib and he drew his sword, sensing her intentions. "You are not taking my child!"
"Now it's your child. Not our child. Funny how that is."
"Go if you must," he said, his voice lowering an octave to his dangerous tone. "but she stays with me."
"I'm not leaving her with you. To you, she's not a baby. She's just another tool in your arsenal."
He raised his sword in preparation to protect his interest. She met him blade for blade and then flipped over him and picked Camilla up with her free arm.
He didn't dare come at her with the baby in her arms, so he attacked with words instead. "And you? You'll resent her for being who she is, a daughter of war. What are you going to do when you find out she has more from me than just my nose?"
Such a remark didn't even need a response unless it came from her chakram. She left, and he let her though she knew it was far from over.
She wrapped and tied Camilla to her back, who was actually pretty calm considering she'd just been witness to her parents battling. Maybe she was destined for war or maybe she could just tell her mother was finally at ease. Even though Xena couldn't stand the sight of Ares right now, she was filled with love for the child they had created together.
She vowed silently as she mounted Argo that she would do right by her, and be the one to raise her to adulthood if she had anything to say about it. Even though it wasn't this lifetime, she still regretted the mistakes she had made with Solan and Eve. They wouldn't be repeated. That was the advantage of having two lives under your belt, the wisdom of experience.
She rode off in the general direction of Valentina's town. She recognized Gabrielle's spirit in her.
A few hours later in the early morning, she caught up with her, and Valentina was frightened, getting low to the ground and using her arms to cover her head. Xena hated she was the cause of that fear.
"Please, I 'm on my way back to my home just like you said!" she begged though it was muffled.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm offering you a ride. A girl like you can meet up with many dangers along the road."
Valentina peeked through her arms, and Xena held down a hand to help her up onto Argo.
She hesitated at first, but then she grew bold enough to take it. Maybe a part of her remembered her even without a thread.
Xena nudged Argo back into a cantor, and Valentina asked, "Did my Christmas speech work?"
She gave a small smile. "Yeah, it worked. Hope you don't mind if we make a stop along the way."
"I guess not," she said, all fear gone. Curiosity winning out over any lingering reservations. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere exciting if that's what you're hoping. I just have a problem I need to fix."
She found the mountain pass. A lot of things changed with the passing of time, but some things didn't. And the lay of the land was the same. The Emperor's army would be passing through here to get to hers. If she didn't block it, and a new man took charge, there could still be a bloody battle that would add to her guilt.
She got down and so did Valentina though less gracefully as she was not an accomplished horsewoman.
Camilla fussed, missing the riding.
"I love babies," Valentina said
"I figured you might."
"Can I hold her?"
She gave pause only because she still feared retribution from Ares, but it's not like she wasn't right here. "Sure."
Gabrielle, Valentina she silently corrected herself, was a natural with kids. Not that she was surprised. Camilla even gave her first smile at her silly faces.
Xena ran and jumped her way up the rocky landscape until she was almost near the top in a way the soldiers with their heavy armor weren't going to be able to do. She found a heavy branch and dislodged the largest boulder.
It started a chain reaction, getting the other rocks and boulders moving, and when the rock slide stopped and the dust cleared, it was impassible.
"By the time they get around this," she explained when she reached the stunned Valentina, "my army will be disbanded. If they're not, I'll make sure of it. Crisis averted."
"Clever. I have a feeling there's a lot you can teach me."
"You've no idea." She felt the familiar tingle of his presence. "And the first lesson is going to be how to kick a god's butt."
