Chapter Two: I Spy

Surveying the busy streets of the south of Rome, a pair of hazel eyes peered through a telescope. With one eye shut and the other seeing the world beneath her in a tall tower, she took a bite of an apple to keep her busy. So far her job was tedious and could be boring at times but she insisted on following orders.

During her quiet time alone she heard footsteps coming up the narrow stairs. Quickly she unsheathed the knife at her hip and tossed the unfinished apple on the ground. Keeping her guard up was a necessity to survive in this era, especially in Rome.

The footsteps crept closer and closer. Her fingers firmly wrapped around the knife's hilt and held her breath. She didn't feel ready to attack someone just yet. She received a horrible beating a week before arriving in Rome and the bruises all over her ribcage weighed her down.

The tension in her body relaxed when the boots matched the person. She smiled and lowered the knife close to her thigh.

"Xena," she greets while trying to hide the knife.

Xena frowned and took notice of the young woman's knife that she was desperately trying to conceal. She snatched the knife away and the dark haired woman hung her head shamefully.

"You were going to attack me?" she took a step closer to the woman. "Know your place, Gölge."

The timid thin framed tall woman licked her suddenly dry lips. The knife was placed back into her palm and she lifted her eyes, staring into her ruler's crystalline eyes. Inside, her stomach churned and a knot formed in the middle of her chest.

Xena looked into the girl's hazel eyes for a couple seconds longer then brushed by her, bumping shoulders. She stripped herself of the maroon veil and garb that she stole off the noblewoman the night before. Curiously, Gölge turned around and saw the conqueror's toned backside and put a hand to her chest, almost able to breathe again.

"How's the search? Have you seen anything suspicious?"

The conqueror looked over her shoulder and Gölge averted her gaze. She smiled softly and threw her vest on and began running the laces through the small eyes, tightening it slightly from her waist up.

"No. I –I haven't seen anything useful. I do not believe anyone knows we're here," the olive skinned woman replied. She toyed with her long thick braided hair and took another look at Xena behind her. "Where did you go last night? You were gone for a long time," she hinted.

Xena stopped in the middle of tying her vest and glared at the wall in front of her. There was a moment of awkward silence between them.

"Is that really any of your business?" she answered in a calm tone. "You're supposed to be spying on Romans. Not me."

"I…just…I just worry about you. Emperor Nero has a bounty on your head."

Xena pinched the girl's chin and gazed into her hazel eyes. "Put your emotions aside, Gölge. I brought you here because I have a very special task assigned," she leans in close, "just for you." Her warm breath grazed the girl's cheek and the hair on the back of her neck stuck up like needles.

The tall woman, mirroring the conqueror in height, hair color and stature, lips plump and cheekbones that could rival the conqueror's before her. Her palms drenched with clammy sweat as she kept her gaze locked with the blue eyed one. It was then that a smile crept onto the conqueror's lips that Gölge's cheeks reddened.

Stepping aside, Xena walked over to the telescope to take a look at the busy city. With a steady hand she guided the seeing-eye scope and looked for Roman soldiers searching the city but found nothing of note yet. The scope turned slowly from left to right and then she snapped her fingers.

"Ah what do we have here…"

Gölge took a moment to gather her inner thoughts and she walked over to her ruler. She was closer than necessary and Xena felt the girl's closeness, inching nearer to her backside.

"What did you see?" asks the girl with a crack in her voice.

Xena raised an eyebrow and took a step away from the telescope and spun around swiftly to face the young tanned woman. A narrowing of her eyes was enough to scare anyone off, all except this one. This girl. This girl was unique. She knew it from the moment she laid eyes on her in a tribe she invaded.

"Now I know why I gave you the name 'Gölge'," she chirps with a snort. "I spotted Augusta Sabina walking across the square on the north side."

"Are you going to follow her?"

"No but you," she poked the girl's chest, "are going to keep watch. Wake me when she comes back this way. I'm going to rest for awhile."

She side stepped Gölge and brushed her hand against the girl's and gripped one of her fingers before disappearing into the back of the cramped room. Gölge kept her smile to herself and sat back down in front of the telescope.

XXXXXX

Roman soldiers entered the workshop and told everyone inside to leave immediately. Gabrielle lifted her eyes over the canvas and saw the artists in the middle of working on their projects being ushered out. She tried to hide herself, knowing what was to come.

All of the artists had to stop their work and hurry out of the workshop. That also included Zenodorus who before vacating, smiled at Gabrielle and gave her two thumbs up for luck. She groaned and hit her forehead against the canvas several times lightly.

"Gabrielle! Are you hiding from me?" Sabina's voice boomed in the workshop.

She groaned and stood quickly from the stool on which she sat. Put on a face, she told herself. She rounded her work station and presented a façade to the empress. The smile hurt her cheeks in the presence of the irritating empress.

"Augusta Sabina, I was told you were coming by today. You want a portrait for your private villa?" she asks politely.

Sabina sighed heavily and sat down on a chair then fanned her face. "It's so hot outside," she complained. "Will this summer heat ever end?"

Gabrielle tried her best not to roll her eyes. She poured a glass of water for the empress and offered it to her. Sabina grinned and graciously accepted the water and downed it quickly. Gabrielle's eyebrow arched. It was indeed hot but this woman had the luxury of living in a huge palace with people to serve her at all times. She didn't feel bad for the empress in the least.

"On the bright side you will deliver your baby in the fall. The heat wave will have died down by then," she tries to sound concerned and sympathetic which definitely fed the empress' ego.

Sabina grinned and crossed one leg over her knee. "I cannot stay too long today, Gabrielle. The emperor has a curfew set for me. I can understand why," she continued to fan her face and wipe sweat droplets off her forehead.

"I wasn't aware there was a curfew especially for you, empress. Aren't you allowed to come and go freely in the city?"

The empress snorted. "Haven't you heard? That primitive woman has entered the vicinity of the empire. Who knows where she lies in wait? Hera forbid that she be in Rome," she sighs heavily and shifts uncomfortably in the chair.

Gabrielle took that information, locking it away in the back of her mind. She prepped her station to sketch the portrait and opened several vials of paint. She wondered if this was going to be an easy task to achieve. If that so called Steppe queen was in the empire, lurking in the shadows, then this could be a very amenable task.

"Did you bring anything to change into or will you be wearing the gown you have on?" she ignored the statement she heard. Being too eager could get you in trouble she quickly found out.

"We'll do a quick sketch today. I'm exhausted," Sabina swiped her sweaty forehead. "The walk from the palace to here is quite a journey for me."

Gabrielle hums and nods her head. She sat down on the stool and held a piece of charcoal in her hand. She peeked at the dramatic empress from behind the canvas and raised her hand. "Could you move your head a little to the left?" she asks and Sabina frowned. "If you wouldn't mind, empress? We only want your best angles."

"All my angles are the best, Gabrielle," the Augusta bats her eyelashes and gives the artist a shimmering smile.

"Of course, such a beautiful empress as you wouldn't dare have a horrible angle…" she says and faces the canvas, sketching away. Inside, she was smoldering. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Conversation. The young empress loved to blab her tongue until it turned numb. Luckily today was a short day.

XXXXXX

Gölge braided a piece of rope to keep busy as she was told to watch the streets. Occasionally she glanced back at the conqueror sleeping on a small bedroll on the floor. Keeping focus wasn't as easy as Xena said it was. She received several mixed signals from her ruler and teacher over the years spent together.

She remembered when she first saw the Steppe conqueror and how horrified she was. Her tribe was massacred for not paying their dues. It was only a matter of time until her people were attacked. She prepared herself for that day, or so she thought. That day was long and bloody. The loss of her friends affected her greatly because they were all she had. Her family left her to go to war when she was a mere child and never returned.

But that day she helped out of a large tent by Xena's lending hand. At first she thought she was going to be sliced in two and left for the coyotes. That day she became the Steppe conqueror's student. That was three years ago. Gölge quickly realized that she and her teacher weren't far apart in age and her desire to get closer burned within her.

Her life was forever changed and so was her name. It'd been so long since she heard her birth name that she couldn't recognize it if someone called her by it.

"Shadow," she murmurs to herself.

She finished braiding the rope and sighed. She threw the small piece of rope on the ground and peeked in the telescope. Scanning the area she locked onto the Augusta making her way across the square with her guards and maids following her.

She gasped and ran to the other side of the room. "Xena!"

With a jolt the Steppe woman awoke to a pair of wide eyes staring at her from above.

"Sabina is coming back this way!"

Xena jumped up and ran to the small window and she didn't need a telescope to see the empress. A grin formed on her lips.

"Timing. It's all about timing."

Gölge shifted her weight and gawked at the raven haired warrior. "What are you planning to do?"

"It's not what I'm planning. It's what's already been done."

She turned and saw much confusion in the girl's eyes. She grazed her finger on her cheek and her once malicious smile turned soft. She could feel the heat radiating off the girl's flesh. A moment too long, she thought, and pulled her hand away. Her smile vanished and her face became cold and eyes distant.

"I'll be leaving to search the city by nightfall. Tildus will come to drop off food and wine. Do not leave this tower." It was more than advisement. It was a threat.

She walked off back to her bedroll and Gölge shows a frown.

"Where are you going? Aren't you supposed to tell me everything?"

Xena spun around, wide eyed. "I don't have to answer to anyone but myself. I urge you to keep reminding yourself of that."

XXXXXX

Augusta Sabina and her entourage stumbled upon a crowd of people. She waved her hand to the guards her husband assigned to her, to clear a path for her. She waits patiently as the people dispersed and she was able to pass through.

A sight she wasn't expecting to see was about to be burned into her mind. The citizens bowed their heads upon her presence and she smiled at everyone, though there were whispers among the people. They kept staring at her and she felt the circumference of eyes.

She halted in the center of the giant circle of Roman people and lifted her head slowly up to the burning skies. Holding a hand over her eyes she gasped. A naked noblewoman was nailed to a crucifix for the whole city to observe.

"Kelaina!" she screeched. She let out an ear piercing scream, sobbing profusely at the sight of her friend and confidant of Emperor Nero.

The guards quickly surrounded the crucifix and pushed people back. Sabina dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks as she wailed loudly.

XXXXXX

After a long day of sculpting and painting all of the artists left their stations to go back to their homes. Zenodorus stayed a bit longer than usual to finish the arm of his sculpture. The assignment was the biggest one yet and since he planned to make a colossal monument he had to sculpt each piece separately and attach them to the frame later.

To finish up his station he threw a large sheet over the sculpture and washed his hands underneath the water spigot. He heard cursing and loud thrashing around so he peeked over his shoulder and snickered.

"Tough day with the empress, Gabrielle?" he inquires.

She rearranged her supplies on the table and slammed a dirty cup of paint water down next to her brush set. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," he kept washing his clay covered hands.

"She said it would be a short day!" she yelled.

Zenodorus raised his eyebrow. Didn't she just say she didn't want to talk about it?

"She was here for four hours! Her servants had to bring food in! I told you she's a cow," she rambled. "You wouldn't believe the stuff she was talking about, Zenodorus. She actually asked me to paint a mural on the wall after she has her spawn child! Can you believe that?"

He smiled and dried his hands. "I can. You know how she is. Listen, Gabrielle I have to –"

"And then she wanted me to paint her from the chest up because gods forbid that she be captured in time while pregnant," she scoffed and began putting her bits of charcoal back into their respected box. "And then in the middle of the sketch –are you ready for this? She changed her mind! So now I have to redraw everything that I worked on for four hours." She groaned loudly.

Nervously, he backed away. "I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something real quick! I have to go now but I'll see you tomorrow…"

Gabrielle grunted and while she was reorganizing her station she spilt the paint water all over herself and the floor. The paintbrushes inside the cup rolled off the table and hit her on the head. She felt like this day was worse than yesterday. Augusta Sabina was a curse to her creativity. Whenever that woman appeared she wanted to rip her a new one.

She gathered the brushes off the floor and then saw a hand holding one of the brushes in front of her face. She whipped her head upwards and her mouth parted slightly.

"You should keep these somewhere safe so they're not stolen again," said Xena.

Gabrielle hesitantly grabbed the brush from her and stood up, placing the cup back on the table. She smoothed her hands down her dirty smock and looked around the empty workshop.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Xena raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you some kind of assassin?"

The blonde laughed awkwardly. "Did you…" she paused and shook her head. "Never mind. What are you doing here? It's after hours."

"I told you I was coming back at the same time I came by last night. Do you not remember?"

"Oh, right." She slapped her forehead. "It's been a busy day. I guess I forgot." She sighs. "Well, I don't normally let people in after the shop is closed but since you're here…would you like for me to paint you something?"

Xena mingled around the shop and came to the sketch of Sabina on the large canvas. She looked over to the blonde artist and smiled. "Is this the empress?"

Not her again. Gabrielle nods her head.

"Yes, she comes by and requests portraits all the time."

"Does she?" the Steppe woman admired the drawing. "You must be very good if the empress comes to you. There are hundreds of painters in Rome and yet she wants you."

Gabrielle brushed a long strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, I've never seen you around before. You're not from here I take it?"

Xena lifted her eyes over the canvas and came around to stand in front of the artist. "I'm just visiting but I think I'll be staying for awhile."

"Here, sit down." She offered her a seat and Xena eyed the chair and slowly took a seat. Gabrielle smiled and grabbed some parchment from a box on the table. She swiveled the stool around and sat down with a fresh stick of charcoal and stared at the blue eyed woman, smiling faintly.

Xena watched the blonde's eyes inspect her face and she'd never had anyone stare at her so intensely for so long that she was beginning to feel self conscious. She adjusted the maroon veil on her head and wrapped an arm around herself.

"Your face is very symmetrical," she says with a hint of surprise in her tone. The longer she stared at her the more awkward it was. She looked down at the parchment and started to sketch slowly starting with the outline of a face.

"So, where are you from?"

The Steppe conqueror tried to peer at the sketch but couldn't see from this distance. "From Greece," she lied.

"Oh, Greece!" Gabrielle says while lifting her eyes periodically. "Where in Greece?"

"Delphi," she answers. She wasn't used to being on the opposite end of the unknown.

"That's a nice city. I've never been there but I've heard a lot of strange things happen there. So what brings you to Rome? You must be a noblewoman given your clothing."

Xena briefly stared at the gown she wore; almost forgetting that she was dressed like a Roman. "I plan to buy a villa here and I'm sightseeing. Rome is supposedly the best city to do that so I've heard."

A chortle came by the artist and she continued sketching without lifting her eyes. "If you say so. Ever since the emperor was crowned he's prohibited all types of entertainment. But I guess it must be different for an upper-class woman like you."

Very interesting. Xena leans forward to sneak a look at the sketch and caught eyes with Gabrielle. "You better not make me look hideous."

Gabrielle crookedly grinned. "I don't think that's possible."

It took a second for her to realize that what she said was not supposed to be said aloud. She swallowed and cleared her throat. Those eyes; they could break glass with their intensity. Her heart palpitated and she quickly dipped her head down to the sketch again.

Xena smirked and leaned back to allow the artist to continue sketching in peace.

"If you're not busy I could show you around Rome…" Gabrielle offered what thought might be a good idea after that horrible thing she blurted out. "But I'm sure you have better things to do."

Her subject didn't reply and Gabrielle hurried to finish the sketch as quickly as possible. She blew off the remnants of the charcoal dust and presented the drawing. Xena took the parchment and examined it closely and smiled at the nervous artist.

"You have a good eye," she complimented her. She handed the parchment back.

"You can keep it," Gabrielle insisted.

Xena set the parchment on the blonde's lap. "You're not finished with it. You said you'd paint something for me. I'll come back so you can finish it."

She held her breath and stood up at the same time as her subject. "I assume you'll be back at the same time?" she asks and the blue eyed woman kept quiet with that powerful stare of hers. "You're a woman of few words," she jokes.

The tall brunette let a small grin escape her lips and she turned to leave the workshop. Gabrielle looked down at the sketch and frowned. She gasped and ran after the woman out into the open.

"Wait, I didn't catch…your name." Her eyes glanced around the area and she searched behind the corners of the stone building and rubbed her chin. "That woman is like a ghost," she mutters.

Waltzing back into the shop she safely secured the sketch in a drawer. She cleaned up the table and then a pigeon appeared on the window's ledge. She saw the message attached to the bird's claw and she retrieved it then let the pigeon fly off into darkness.

With caution she opened the small message which read:

Meet at the Faustina Temple. Half passed noon.

Gölge - pronounced "gol-gey"