Chapter Six: All You Left Behind

Gölge nursed her arm and kept her distance from Xena as much as she could. Living in such a small space wasn't easy for any of them but everyone somehow made it work. While Xena's men scouted Rome, Gölge was put on lookout duty indefinitely. She hated waiting in the shadows and she hated Rome. The longer they stayed here the antsier she got lurking in the tower.

She knew for sure that her arm wasn't broken but possibly had a sprain due to her recent encounter. She hid her pain by keeping her arm close to her chest at all times. Whenever Xena wasn't around or sleeping during the day that was the only time she could bind her elbow with a splint. All the other times she was forced to endure the agonizing pain.

Today was especially difficult to keep watch over the city since Xena was here. She constantly kept looking over her shoulder to see if Xena was asleep or not. Ever since her arrival late last night, she remained awake and more alert than usual.

Gölge caught a pair of blue eyes on her and she whipped her head back around to stare out the window all while clutching her arm to her chest. The footsteps approached closer and closer until she could feel Xena's glare from behind.

"I have the document to start the rebellion," she handed over the scroll tied with a ribbon. "I want you to deliver it to Vindex. He should be in his villa, drinking copious amounts of wine no doubt."

She took the scroll from Xena with her uninjured arm and swiveled in the chair.

"Don't you normally visit his villa? Why are you asking me to do that?"

Xena tapered her eyes. "Why are you questioning me, Gölge?"

The girl turned around and grimaced. She held the scroll tightly, crinkling the thick parchment with a clenched fist.

"You've been very obstinate ever since we came to Rome. If you don't want to do this then you can go back to Edirne."

The color drained from Gölge's cheeks and she stood up, slowly straightening her injured arm. She tried not to cause alarm but of course Xena noticed the twinge of her eyebrow and lip. Her fist tightened around the scroll, crumpling it as she poorly hid her very obvious pain.

"What's wrong with you?" Xena took a step forward and the girl took a step back. "I'm not going to hit you again," she extended her hand. "Unless you prefer I do…" she arched an eyebrow.

Gölge relented and swallowed the lump in her throat and locked her jaw. "I'm fine. When do you want this delivered? I can go now if you wish."

Xena scanned the girl's posture once more and then walked over to a chest of clothes. She pulled out a green gown and held it out in front of her body. She gently draped the gown over Gölge's arm and that gave her a quick opportunity to inspect her apprentice a bit closer. Her eyes roamed over the girl's body and slowly traced her hand down Gölge's arm and instantly felt tension. She pulled her hand away abruptly.

"Put that on and then deliver the document to Vindex. Make sure nobody sees you."

On the second floor of the workshop, Gabrielle studied the sizeable gash on her neck. She kept going over the moment she was followed, or more like chased, and cornered in an alleyway. Her life was almost taken from her in a matter of seconds and if it weren't for those people who passed by, she'd be dead now.

Recently she was bombarded with so many distractions. She wasn't sure if she could believe anything that Evander said. She didn't know him very well but she supposed discrepancy was part of this job. This was nothing like she envisioned her life would be. Killing people should never be a part of anyone's job description.

She didn't enjoy spying on others and receiving a large sum of money for it either but if she didn't do exactly what Nero wanted then she'd be dead. The thought of going after someone so important and yet so highly feared in the empire was exceptionally tasking on her mental health. Once this was over with she made a promise to leave Rome and never return.

Gabrielle wrapped a scarf around her throat to conceal the wound and scurried down the stairs. She briefly greeted all of the sculptors and then Zenodorus jumped down from the ladder and she jumped back.

"Don't do that," she warned.

The lanky artist clasped his clay covered hands together. "Where're you off to today, Gabrielle?"

"I have some pressing matters to tend to," she shoved him aside gently.

A bit miffed by her sudden dark mood, Zenodorus ran in front of her and walked backwards, trailing her every move towards the exit. He put on a flashing charming grin which she rolled her eyes in response. He finally got her to stop in her tracks so he could continue to converse.

"Why the sour mood, Gabrielle? You aren't your usual self. Oh, wait, I know!" he raised a finger. "Augusta Sabina must've given you a hard time at the party last night. Am I right?"

She crookedly grinned. "Yes, that's it. I won't be back until after the shop is closed. Keep an eye on my station, would you?"

"Oh...o –of course, Gabrielle." he took a step to the side and allowed her to pass.

The Romans crowded the streets like insects. It was going to be nearly impossible to find the Steppe woman's men in this chaos. Daily life in Rome was fast paced. Nothing stopped moving in this city, not even a coastline fire was going to stop the Romans from living their best lives.

Look at them, Gabrielle thought. They didn't even give a care in the world. They were completely oblivious to the danger around them at all times. They had no idea that their ruler was a tyrant who'd rather see most of them dead for not adhering to his laws. They were too busy buying materialistic commodities and entertaining themselves to care about anyone in the world.

After last night's party at the palace, all of her thoughts about Romans were confirmed. They were self absorbed and thought their lives were more important than anyone else's. The nobles were far better at showing their carefree attitude than the common citizens. They flaunted it and she had enough of old politicians ruling the city.

She needed a way out of this place and if she had to kill this one last person on her list then so be it. She had no choice but to do this.

Gabrielle managed to make her way around the crowds and she didn't see anything suspicious. She did overhear a conversation about the coastline fires but it was false information. Evander was right. The public knew nothing and she was sure Nero was going to keep his people in the dark.

But as she kept slinking about the city she kept hearing conversations about the fires. That happened days ago and people were super concerned about it. She too wondered what the point of the fires was. All of the ships that were set aflame were merchant ships filled with food, weaponry and construction supplies that were brought from a foreign land.

She minded her own business and inspected a vendor's fruit stand while she listened to two men carry on their conversation about the loss of supplies. They were affected financially and now the Roman army had forbade anyone to trade overseas. She knew that only because Evander told her but now it was confirmed –the public knew too.

As soon as the customer left, she made her way over to the merchant with the empty stall. She smiled sweetly at the elderly man and he hardly took notice of her. She slammed her hand on the tabletop and he lifted his eyes.

"Hello," he said and finally smiled.

"Hey there," her eyes darted to the onlookers who gave her strange stares. She obviously didn't fit in here. "I couldn't help but overhear your situation. It's such a shame that the merchant ships were set on fire," she played up to her talkative nature, hoping he'd receive her.

He let out a weary sigh. "Many of us aren't going to recover from the loss. We rely on the trade."

She rubbed her chin and picked at the wood chipping off the table. "It's unfortunate," she said seeming to sound interested. "Where exactly did those ships come from, do you know?"

"We get most of our supplies from Edirne."

She wrinkled her eyebrows and cleared her throat. "Edirne?"

Slightly amused by her puzzled face, he let out a soft laugh. "It's a province in the Steppes. Haven't you heard of it?"

A hand distinctively came to her throat. "No…I've never heard of it." Her heart palpitated rapidly and she suddenly became more aware of her surroundings. "I hope your business starts again. Thank you for your time."

She slipped away and flipped the hood over her head. She left the merchant's stall more confused than when she entered the city. If Rome had trade ties with Edirne then why were the ships purposefully set on fire? Why would someone risk all of their supplies for the sake of a fantastical display like that? Was it to get attention? She imagined that the Steppe people were hurting financially too or maybe Nero had done something horrible to the people of Edirne and incited the fire indirectly?

Varinia woke to loud rapping at the door. She raised her head off of Evander's chest and curled her fingers around his raven locks with a smile. He stirred for a moment and shifted his weight to his side. Gradually, she slipped out of bed and threw a blanket around her body.

Grumpily, she opened the door to put a halt to the incredibly loud knocking. She was met with a short blonde cloaked woman in the corridor. She hung her arm on the door and ruffled her unkempt wavy hair, clearly annoyed her morning was interrupted.

Gabrielle pushed the scarf up above her mouth and nose to block out the smell of wine, sweat and gods knows what else happened in this forsaken place. She regretted ever stepping foot into this building. Frankly, she was shocked she was allowed in.

"Um, is Evander here?" she asked with a muffled voice.

The blanket opened to Varinia's body and exposed her slender tanned abdomen. Gabrielle urged herself to look away but she couldn't. Her eyes were plastered on the young woman's bare flesh.

"Are you a friend of Evander?" she twirled a curl around her finger.

"Sort of…"

Varinia gave a roll of her eyes. "One moment." She closed the door halfway and then swung it open again. "What's your name?"

"It's Gabrielle. He'll know who I am."

The door was closed in her face and she was left out in the hallway. She sighed and looked around to see a few women hanging out at the end of the hall, talking quietly, barely clothed. She chose to keep her eyes forward and focus on anything but the smell. Oh, old wine was not a pleasant smell in Rome's summer heat.

Moments later Varinia opened the door with a much nicer and welcoming face. She allowed Gabrielle entry and even offered her wine which Gabrielle refused.

Evander on the other hand looked annoyed by her presence. He laced his pants and marched over to his partner and grabbed hold of her arm then dragged her to the window.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

Varinia immersed herself in their conversation. "It's a little early for wine, I realized. Would you like some tea?"

Gabrielle blushed and turned her gaze away from the woman's exposed breasts. "Ah, um, no thank you." she used a hand as a blinder and looked up at Evander, hoping Varinia would just disappear.

"Again, what are you doing here?"

"You said I could come here if I had information!" Gabrielle hissed. "Do you always hang out with whores?"

"Varinia is not a whore," he said defensively.

Her eyes widened and glanced over at the Syrian who smiled at them. "Well, she's certainly not your wife."

It was apparent by his body language that he clearly did not want her here.

Gabrielle cut to the chase. "I overheard a conversation in the market today. The fires on the coastline that burned all the ships belonged to merchants from Edirne." She leaned in closer, "that's a Steppe province." She whispered.

His stomach bubbled out of nerves. He worked so hard last night to wipe the information he lured out of Vindex from his mind. Now he was forced to come back to reality again. Wine and Varinia wasn't going to magically erase what happened. She was here. That woman was here. She could be anywhere.

"About that," he set a hand on her shoulder. "I found out that Vindex is working with Xena."

"Xena?"

"That's her name. She's here in Rome, Gabrielle. I told you so!" his raised voice alarmed Varinia and he smiled faintly and waved his hand to assure her nothing was amiss. "Did you find out anything else? Do you know what she looks like? She's hiding in Rome and we have no leads! What are we going to do?"

"Evander, relax!" she pinched his arm. "This is too difficult for us to do on our own."

Nervously, he clutched his necklace and fidgeted with the curtains to keep his nerves at bay and wandering mind tranquil. His heart raced and the busy streets below fell deaf on his ears. He could feel the rhythmic thumping of his heart in his throat as he twirled the bracelet around his fingers repetitively.

Gabrielle rubbed his arm and he flinched, nearly whacking her across the face. He took but a second to realize he was in this very room and not elsewhere. He thought of his interrogation in Vindex's villa. The idea of the unknown circling around his city was unquestionably disturbing.

"Are…you feeling okay? You're sweating." she wiped the droplets from his cheek.

"W –we need to find her."

"And we will," she nodded. "But we need more information. Why don't we start with Vindex?"

Scoping out the city wasn't a luxury that she had and she couldn't stay out long otherwise Xena would question her until sunset. She did as told and delivered the message to Vindex. He was able to tell her that someone knew about Xena's presence but he didn't know who it was.

Xena's plan to remain hidden was a risk from the start. Setting the ships on fire was just the first step to get the Romans to notice her. Once the army began to revolt against Nero, Rome will fall and then everyone would know who made their mark on the empire.

Gölge wondered how Xena was going to pull this off and she was already extremely paranoid. Her senses were heightened walking through the streets. She met eyes with everyone and felt she was being gawked at. It's all in my head, she assured herself.

Headed back to the tower she came by the workshop. Smiling, she entered the large building and several artists, all males, turned to her. Dressed in the green gown with a veil to match covering her dark hair she felt out of place.

Zenodorus wiped his hands and nervously grinned at the woman. "What brings you here?"

"Just stopping by." She slinked by and saw an easel with an empty canvas. "I was told by a little bird that you have a very talented artist who works here. Might that be true?"

"Yes, yes." He circled around and blocked Gabrielle's workspace. "She's not here right now but she's returning after the shop is closed. She'll be back tomorrow morning if you want to schedule an appointment?"

Gölge noted the expensive paintbrushes displayed on the table. An artist could never afford brushes like that. A frown formed and she was taken out of her element, thinking of Xena's mysterious disappearances which weren't so mysterious anymore.

She momentarily forgot a pair of eyes was watching her.

"That won't be necessary. Would you mind telling her that I stopped by?"

Zenodorus, smitten by her, nodded with a goofy grin. "No problem! What's your name?"

A terrible day this was. Gabrielle searched the city with Evander and they even waited outside of Vindex's home all afternoon. The governor didn't leave his home all day which was very unusual for someone who supposedly was at the emperor's beck and call.

Tired, sweaty from the summer heat, and exhausted from mentally racking her brain all day and not to mention Evander's jumpiness, rendered her drained. She whipped the scarf off her neck and felt the cold sweat dripping down her back.

She flung the scarf on the chair inside the workshop and thought to check on her work station. As much as she trusted Zenodorus, she knew he was clumsy and was busy with his own work. She inspected the area and everything was in place.

Over her shoulder, she spotted the sculptors talking quietly and cleaning up their stations for the day. She grabbed her satchel and pulled out the sketch she had. Grinning from ear to ear, she felt anxious to see her client again. Even though they spent some time together at the party last night, that was the last place she wanted to be. Romans, she was disgusted by every single one of them.

"Gabrielle!"

Her body tensed at Zenodorus' boisterous voice. "Dammit! You really need to stop doing that!" she stuffed the sketch into her bag and turned around, hiding the bag behind her back. "What do you want?"

He wriggled his eyebrows. "You had a delectable guest come by today. She was very interested in your work."

Smiling would give it away. She took in a sharp inhale. "Who was it?"

"She said her name was Xena."

That name. It couldn't be her, could it? Was she really that close? Had she been watching her this whole time? Why would she come here? Perhaps it was a trap. A woman like Xena wouldn't reveal herself to the entire world and she definitely wouldn't come to a public place like this for the whole city to see her. Would she really do that?

Breathless she looked to the sculptor with fear in her eyes. "Is...is she going to come by again?"

"She didn't say. I told her she could make an appointment but she disappeared. Anyway, stay safe, Gabrielle. See you tomorrow?" he threw the rag at her face and it fell to the ground. "You've got horrible reflexes," he laughed and sauntered away.

The bag she held slipped from her hands. She spun around and leaned her palms on the table. She kept her eyes closed and breathed in and out until her stomach settled. Her fingernails tapped against the table and she listened to the sounds of the city shutting down for the evening.

"You look like you've had a hard day."

She gasped and turned at the sound of a very familiar voice. She put a hand over her throbbing chest and nearly backed into the easel behind her.

Xena raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong? You seem flustered."

"I…I…" the bitter taste of bile lingered on her tongue. "No, I'm okay."

"Good." Xena smiled warmly and held a bound of cloth in her palm. "I brought the salve as promised. Did you forget I was coming?" she reached out to brush a lock of hair behind Gabrielle's ear.

"No…I…"

Xena titled her head and focused on the wound. It was beginning to bruise which was a good sign but the gash was still very swollen. Cleanliness was important when it came to any wound especially ones to the throat.

She grabbed the stool and slowly lowered Gabrielle to sit by a gentle push to her shoulders. She grabbed the salve wrapped in the cloth and dug her fingers into herb lotion. She knelt down and gently pulled Gabrielle's cloak off her shoulder.

"I made this myself. If you apply it to the gash twice a day it should heal quickly." She rubbed the salve along the blonde's neck gingerly.

Gabrielle felt the cool lotion on her skin and that had to be the most soothing thing all day. She flinched as the salve began to sting and caused a burning sensation all across her throat and collar bone. Mistakenly, she peered down at the crystalline eyes below her.

"Thank…you," she spoke in a broken voice.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" Xena curiously asked.

"W –what?"

"Your wound," she nudged her head. "I know that wasn't an accident, Gabrielle. Like I said, you're not a clumsy person."

Gabrielle's jaw locked. "You –you don't know me."

"Well…" a hint of a smile appeared, "you don't really know me either."