Chapter Ten: Whine for Wine

The Roman citizens were restless and the harm inflicted on Vindex was still being investigated. Soldiers were going around the entire city talking to people to gather information. This meant that Xena couldn't go outside to scope the city just yet. She waited in the shadows since she arrived and she was going to continue to do so.

She needed to plan this rebellion very carefully and with Vindex out of the picture it was going to be a very daring task. Gölge had been very disobedient and defiant lately and while this irritated Xena, she was the best person for this job. Gölge didn't know it yet but she was going to play a large role in starting the rebellion but for now, everyone would remain dormant.

Xena stared at Evander from across the room. She twirled the leather necklace around her fingers while her mind wandered. She had her suspicions about Evander ever since they bumped into each other in the alley. The minute she laid eyes on that necklace he wore she thought he might've stolen it.

As she continued to gawk in the darkness, she realized she was blind to the features they shared. He had the same eyes, nose and hair as she did. Her eyes drifted the necklace in her palm and smiled softly. She remembered when she gifted him the bracelet.

The day of his birth was a day she suppressed in the back of her mind but she remembered it vividly. It was a scorching hot summer in Edirne and the crops were failing that year. She woke one summer's night drenched in sweat and called for help. She fought through the pain for two nights and three days.

She spent those nine months carrying her son alone. Evander's father went off on an expedition and never came home and she was told later that he was killed by Roman invaders. Once she saw her son for the first time the fear of loneliness ceased to exist.

They spent three short years together. She didn't know that the years they had were so few until Emperor Tiberius' army raided her city. She'd never forget the sickening feeling when she returned home to find her son's bed empty.

It was easier to think him dead but she always wondered what kind of man her son would become. Now that he was before her she was distraught by the path Evander chose. He killed people for a living. How much time had gone by? He couldn't be any older than eighteen or nineteen summers old.

Tiberius was lucky that he was dead. Xena had seen Rome governed by three rulers: Caligula, Tiberius and now Nero. She faced off with Tiberius numerous of times. It wasn't until that her home was ravaged for the final time that she hid from the public's eye and hadn't resurfaced until Nero assumed the throne.

Nero was inexperienced and had several officials doing his work for him and apparently a league of assassins too. Xena closed her fingers around the necklace and tapered her eyes, staring at her son wiggling in his bound position.

This made it a whole lot harder to focus. Her son wanted to kill her and she wanted nothing more than to take him back to Edirne away from this filthy place. She couldn't release him nor could she kill him. She didn't have the heart to do that. Evander wedged her into a tough spot that not even she could get out of.

Trapped in a vortex of flames, her stomach swelled with butterflies that clung to her insides as if drenched in hot tar. The inability to breathe was just another plague that overcame her the more she had to think of facing Evander.

She needed to treat him like a regular prisoner so she marched over to Evander who gave her an icy shoulder. She clutched the necklace in her palm, suppressing her desire to caress his cheek.

"I'm not going to kill you."

Evander brought his lips to a firm line. Surprised by her words he still kept his cheek turned from her, unsure of how to answer. He was expecting to be killed the moment he was kidnapped. Maybe she was lying and toying with him.

"But I'm not going to release you either," she wanted to keep him close. "I know you aren't working alone. There are many people who want to kill me but you should know that the Romans attacked my land first. They stole a lot from me."

Evander hid his smile and finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. "My job doesn't allow me to pick sides. I don't like Romans either."

She dropped to a knee. "Yet you work for the most powerful Roman who told you to assassinate me."

"And I've failed."

Xena's hand trembled and there was a strained resistance to keep from reaching forward to brush the dark strands of his hair from his forehead. She found her lips curling into a smile and Evander gawked at her peculiarly.

She caught herself in her slip-up and rose promptly from the floor. She couldn't face him now.

"What would you do if I released you?" she twirled the bracelet around her finger.

Evander gaped. "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"You wouldn't do that," he snickered. "You'd kill me the moment I left this villa. I would expose you immediately but you wouldn't give me the chance to do that because I'd be dead. That's what would happen."

Xena tapered her eyes. "I could give you a new life away from Rome. You wouldn't have to kill for a living. You could be free."

The offer was tempting but he knew that what she offered wasn't true to word. He'd be killed if not by her then by Nero's men the moment he left Rome. He had eyes on him at all times. He thought of Varinia. He didn't want to leave her behind. He often thought of leaving Rome but he was bound to the emperor.

"You are working for the Governor of Rome," he steered the conversation elsewhere.

She wore a malicious smile and turned on her heel. "He's dead. He wanted to start a rebellion against the emperor. I wasn't behind that. I simply supplied him the funds."

Evander's cheeks soured and he held his breath when her hand came close to his face. She grabbed his jaw and titled his head back gently, glaring down at him from above.

"You see? Romans are corrupt. They turn on each other. You're working for the wrong side, boy," she whispered. "Who else works with you?"

His lips pulled into a snarl and he attempted to bite her hand. Xena pulled her fingers away as if she touched hot coals.

She tucked the charm into her blouse and presented a fresh apple from the bag which Tildus delivered this morning. She sat down on the floor opposite of her captive with a soft smile.

"Apple?" she offered. "I know you're very fond of them."

A little break from Sabina was like an overdue blessing from the gods. Gabrielle thought to keep searching for Evander but after she searched all of the hot spots yesterday she knew she'd never find him. It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. She instead decided to investigate the city by herself.

The soldiers were still searching homes but they moved away from the main market square. Gabrielle stood by a large building where Vindex was found. With her hood draped over her eyes, she was able to remain discrete but nobody paid any attention to her anyway. They were too worried that the soldiers would tear their homes apart.

She eyed the alley behind her and went down the narrow street. It was incredibly desolate but there were women above on the second stories of their homes, beating rugs and hanging wet linen on laundry lines. Frowning, she walked ahead, tracing Vindex's steps.

He couldn't have gone very far with his wounds. She hadn't heard anything about the scalped governor but that only meant Nero was hiding valuable information. He harbored it like mountains of coin. He didn't want the public to know the truth.

Everyone was in danger here. Nobody was safe as long as Xena was here. Gabrielle rounded a tight corner and found harsh lines in the dirt. She scraped her boot on the soil and gazed ahead. There were no footprints here and haven't been in the last two days.

Roman soldiers definitely didn't walk this alleyway. She kept walking, following the markings. It rounded around in a labyrinth and then she came to a dead end.

"Damn," she muttered.

It could've been anything; a wagon coming through this way or a horse carrying items to the market. This was an incredibly narrow space, she observed. Vindex had to have been dragged and then walked the rest of the way to the square to show the wicked harm Xena inflicted upon him.

Yet, this only led her to a dead end. He must've been attacked somewhere else and brought there before he made his way to the square. Gabrielle narrowed her eyes, quickly scanning the area before making her way back to the area where Vindex dropped to his knees, soiled in his own blood.

So far she had nothing but this wasn't new. She had nothing to work with in the beginning either. Xena is far too good at this game of hide and seek. Gabrielle circled her way around a fruit stand and then a glimmer of light flashed in her eye.

She winced and lifted her head slightly to see a flickering light from a tower on the opposite side of the street. She took a step to the left and eyed the tower that overlooked almost the entire inner city. She slipped through the crowd and found herself outside of the tower, glaring up at the open window.

A knife slipped down her arm from beneath the cloak sleeve and she ascended up the spiral staircase. Her heart hammered in her throat. At the top of the tower she stood outside of the door and took in a hefty breath.

The door creaked open and she took a swift step inside and pressed her back to the wall. Her eye caught the telescope device by the window that caused the flickering light she caught from outside. She gripped the hilt of the knife and inspected the inside of the small tower room.

There was a basket of bandages in the corner of the room as well as a black cloak hanging on a chair. She raised an eyebrow and held up the cloak. There was a scarf attached to the cloak. The memory of being attacked came rushing back and Gabrielle flung the cloak onto the floor.

Breathing unsteadily, she gripped her throat. She backed herself into a corner and the telescope jabbed her spine. She jumped back with a breathy yelp.

Gabrielle steadied her breathing to a slow pace and then curiously, peeked through the eye of the scope. She maneuvered the scope around and her jaw dropped. She could see almost the entire city, including the coast which was miles away.

"Oh Xena," she said just above a whisper, "you've been watching everyone this whole time." She abruptly pulled her eye away. "You've been watching me."

Gabrielle ran out of the tower swiftly and bumped into a gaggle of young women. They rudely snubbed her and she looked at their faces, studying the color of their eyes. All had dark brown eyes. She put a hand to her throbbing chest.

Hazel eyes. Xena had hazel eyes.

Her attacker also had hazel eyes. She hadn't thought of it before but it all made sense now. She was hunted and watched this entire time.

With no luck over the last couple of days interrogating her captive, Xena left the hidden villa, clad in a burgundy dress and pastel veil. She slipped out just before sunset and eyed everyone in the market. The city was still very busy and people roamed around.

She weaved her way through the streets going undetected. Not a pair of eyes was set on her. She didn't put off the scent of being the least bit suspicious to anybody around her. While she had her mind on the end goal she had trouble focusing with her son in such close quarters.

She searched for him for several years and she hated to admit that she gave up on the search. She wasn't sure if Evander felt like he had been abandoned or not. It was a daunting task to understand how Evander felt. He cut off his emotions as best as he could. Xena wished she could do the same.

A wine merchant was packing up his area and Xena sauntered over. She tapped on the merchant's shoulder and he jumped. Startled by her, he spun around with a case of wine and set it on the ground.

"May I help you?" he asked.

She put on her best smile. "I want to buy one of your bottles."

He eagerly pulled out a corked bottle and told her the necessary amount. Xena raised an eyebrow at the price. Very expensive, she noted. She grabbed the bottle and the merchant continued packing up for the evening.

She stared at the bottle and frowned. "Where do you get your wine from?"

"Oh," he rubbed his sweaty forehead, "they're shipped in from Edirne. I'm afraid this is my last shipment. As you know, the emperor has cut off all trade to and from the Steppes."

Xena nodded and stuck the bottle underneath her arm. "How unfortunate for you."

"I count on the shipments from Edirne. The best wines come from there. Now I suppose I'll have to settle for wine from Egypt," he shrugged with a snort of a laugh.

She hummed quietly and briefly smiled. "You don't mind selling wine from your emperor's enemy? I hear Xena is in Rome."

"Ah, yes!" the merchant wagged his finger. "I do not believe she is here otherwise the army would've found her already. Either that or she is here and is great at hiding! Enemy or not, Romans love wine from Edirne."

"I'm sure they do," she backed away slowly and thanked him for the wine with a curt nod.

Gabrielle thought she must be going insane. She applied the salve given to her every day, twice a day, just as instructed but looking at the wound, it didn't appear to be healing correctly. She swiped her fingers along the gash and winced. The bumpiness of the gash was unsightly. It was going to turn into a nasty scar, she just knew it.

She washed her hand and pulled down the collar of her blouse to examine the crude wound a bit closer. In her reflection she saw a shadow emerge from down below. All of the other artists left for the day and she wasn't expecting anybody to come by. She hoped it wasn't Augusta Sabina. Gabrielle had no patience for that woman today.

"Gabrielle!"

Her breath snagged in her throat at the familiar voice. Frozen on her bed, she wasn't sure if she should answer back right away. She couldn't stay up here either. She was too embarrassed to face her. Their last meeting didn't go very well and she basically told her client to leave and never come back yet…she's here.

Gabrielle willed herself to rise and walk towards the balustrade. She smiled seeing Xena on the first floor. With a swipe of her hand, she fixed her messy fringed bangs.

"The mysterious woman of Delphi appears yet again!" she called out.

Xena held up the bottle she purchased. "I brought wine."

Several minutes later Gabrielle managed to find some cups. She had to rummage through a lot of shelves in the back. She never needed glasses in the workshop other than to fill them with dirty paint water. She awkwardly sat down opposite Xena and handed her a cup.

Xena smiled warmly and uncorked the bottle, pouring a large helping of the wine into the two cups. Gabrielle held the cup with a shaky hand which Xena took note of but didn't comment.

"I…want to apologize," Gabrielle felt her mouth dry.

"For what?"

"For the way the last night went between us. Augusta Sabina ruined everything and I made it worse. I don't want you to think that I pushed you away but I practically did," she spoke too fast to register her word vomit. "Oh gods," she put a palm to her clammy forehead, "I'm sorry. I didn't think you were going to come back here."

Xena, amused by the artist's behavior, sipped her wine with a wily grin.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you came by," she received a silent stare. "Woman of few words again. I guess you're upset with me."

"I didn't say anything," said Xena, casually sipping wine.

Gabrielle set down the cup and attempted to rise from the chair. She was grabbed by her arm and slowly, she settled down in her seat, staring into Xena's alert eyes.

"Do you…want to work on your portrait? I promised you a painting and I've yet to deliver."

"I just want to sit here," Xena's fingers trailed down the artist's sleeve, "with you."

Gabrielle nodded, shielding her flushed face. She took another gulp of the wine to ease her empty stomach that was doing cartwheels. The silence continued for another few minutes which felt more like hours. She fell speechless which was very odd for her character.

"So, the soldiers have been ransacking homes. I hope you weren't questioned by them."

Xena caught a lump in her chest. "No, but I don't think I could provide any useful information for them if I was." She poured more wine into Gabrielle's half empty cup.

"Oh, uh," she tried to pull the cup away and chuckled nervously. "I don't normally drink wine."

"And I don't normally spend my evenings with artists. We should all try new things," Xena winked.

The burn of the wine settled in her stomach and Gabrielle's vision waned slightly. After two glasses she was beginning to lose her grip on Xena sitting in front of her. The need for more wine was the only way to satiate how she felt lately. She felt lost and alone as well as confused. She tried her best to focus on her mission but everything she had fell flat.

Gabrielle reached for the bottle which was now almost empty. She fell forward and Xena grabbed her by the arms to hoist her back onto the chair. Great, she thought, now she thinks I'm a person who can't hold her wine.

"Did you eat at all today?" asked Xena, brushing blonde strands from the artist's face.

"Eat…" Gabrielle rubbed her forehead, "no, I, no…"

Xena searched the room and found a fruit bowl on a table by the sculptor's station. She gently rested Gabrielle against the back of the chair and walked towards the large unfinished statue of Nero. A hideous snarl appeared on her lips and she grabbed the apple, gawking at the Emperor's clay face from below.

It was so tempting to break off a piece of the enormous piece of art. She willed herself to step away before she did just that. Only a moment later she handed an apple to Gabrielle. While she sat she watched Gabrielle take slow and small bites. She had only a glass of wine and kept pouring more into Gabrielle's glass.

"Better?" she asked, peering into the jade eyes across from her.

Gabrielle wiped her mouth and nodded. "Thank you. Sorry, this is so embarrassing," she mumbled.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Gabrielle. You should take better care of yourself." She said, brushing Gabrielle's hair behind a shoulder. "For an artist you sure have a lot on your plate. Does the Empress keep you occupied all the time?"

Oh that woman. The mention of Sabina made Gabrielle's stomach churn. The apple had done the trick for now but her mind was in a fog.

"I…" she rubbed her throat. "I was doing some thinking," she swallowed the half eaten apple, "I think I know…who attacked…me."

Xena's heart dropped. "Oh?"

"Hazel," she pointed to her eyes, nodding her head slowly, "hazel eyes. She had…hazel eyes."

Parched, she searched her work station for the pitcher of water. She rose from the chair, dropping the apple core and leaned against the table for balance. Picking up the pitcher she groaned and flipped it upside down. It was dry as a bone.

She flipped her body around and the room spun for a moment. She spotted a woman dressed in a colorful cotton veil standing at the entrance of the building. She squinted to get a better look and recognized the woman to be Varinia.

Xena frowned, following Gabrielle's gaze, and swiveled around to the mysterious guest waiting just a few feet in the building. She hadn't noticed it was raining outside, not furiously, but it was more than a sprinkle.

"Were you expecting someone?" asked Xena.

"I…" Gabrielle slammed the pitcher on the table a bit too loudly. "Excuse me, this will take just a second," she whispered and left her station, trying to sober up before speaking to Varinia.

Varinia kept her eye on Xena sitting in a corner of the room. She brought the soaked veil to a close and averted to Gabrielle who was now standing in front of her. Xena gawked from afar thus making Varinia very uncomfortable.

"What are you doing here?" Gabrielle whispered and looked over her shoulder at Xena. "How did you find me?"

The Syrian licked her dry lips. "Who is that?" she asked of the brunette sitting by herself.

"It's…it's not important. You can't be here, Varinia."

"I…I followed you yesterday and saw you worked here," Varinia's voice uneven and shaky, she continued, "have you heard from Evander? He's been missing for five days! It's not like him to disappear like this!" tears were brimming in her eyes.

Gabrielle grabbed the woman's arms and guided her away from Xena's penetrating stare. "I can't discuss this with you right now and…" she felt her stomach begin to revolt, "I…I searched for him. I couldn't find him."

"But I need to know what happened to him, Gabrielle!" she sobbed.

Xena appeared from behind a wall. "Is there a problem?" her smooth voice startled the two.

"No…there's no problem. She was just leaving," Gabrielle tried to push the unwarranted guest out of the workshop but Varinia broke down in uncontrollable tears.

Wailing loudly, she gripped Gabrielle's shoulders and muttered in a language that neither of them could understand. It was obvious that she had no intention of leaving. Gabrielle wrapped a hand over her queasy stomach and turned away from Xena and Varinia then retched onto the ground.

Xena arched an eyebrow and gently took the blonde's arm and led her into the workshop. Her eyes tapered at the sobbing girl and motioned for Varinia to come join them inside away from the heavy downpour.

After awhile Gabrielle fell into a deep sleep and was laid on the ground. Xena went upstairs to find a pillow and suitable blanket. She sat down in the chair and draped the blanket over the slumbering artist. Another night interrupted. This was a pattern and expected at this point.

Varinia took the wet veil off her curly wild hair and set it on the back of the chair. She sniveled and wiped her cheeks dry. She found Xena glaring at her and rested a hand over her thumping chest.

"Why are you so upset?" asked Xena.

Varinia composed herself and in between labored breaths she spoke, "someone I…someone I love is missing," the tears threatened to surface again.

Xena tapped her fingers on her knee impatiently waiting for the woman to tell her story. She had an itch to drink the rest of the wine that went unfinished by Gabrielle.

"He's never gone for this long!" Varinia clenched her fists. "I fear something happened to him."

Xena dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand. "I am sure that he will turn up soon," she made a poor attempt to sympathize with the weepy girl. "You shouldn't be out this late. A pretty girl like you could be taken advantage of."

"I told him several times to stop this," she muttered. "He never listens to me!" she reached forward and firmly gripped Xena's arm, causing alarm. "He could be dead for all I know!"

Xena widened her eyes, frozen in place. She eyed the hand wrapped around her arm which was sure to leave handprints from the firm hold. She pried Varinia's fingers off her arm and her upper lip twitched almost as if in disgust. She gently placed the hand back into Varinia's lap.

"Are you friends with Gabrielle? Could she possibly help you find this man?"

Varinia shrugged her shoulder. "I don't think so. I don't have anyone else in Rome. What am I supposed to do without him? He's all I have!"

This girl is really trying my patience, thought Xena. She took in a deep calming breath, eager to get this frazzled woman out of here.

"You seem to be in a very unlucky situation, child," she ran her tongue over her top teeth. "I would tell you to ask the Roman soldiers for help but –"

"I would never!" Varinia interjected with a ferocious snarl. "This would have never happened if that Steppe woman stayed out of Rome. She has no business being here! Look what she's done to everyone? She's caused nothing but fear!"

Xena anxiously rubbed her fingers together, focusing on the girl's vile expression. Her presence in Rome had caused fear, yes, but also unrest. This wasn't her plan –to be exposed so quickly –but she needed to start the rebellion soon. There was no opportune time to act. She continued to wait in the shadows. She needed to plan this very carefully.

She wondered if Gabrielle had the same thoughts about her. Somehow she didn't want to know Gabrielle's inner thoughts concerning this subject.

"And…what does this Steppe woman have anything to do with this man?"

There was a long pause before Varinia answered. "I cannot say."

"I don't see how she could be the cause of your distress, girl."

Varinia frowned and abruptly sprung up from the chair. She wrapped the veil over her hair and glanced over at Gabrielle sleeping soundly through the storm outside.

"I should go."

It would've been polite for her to offer the girl to stay amid the storm but Xena wanted nothing more than to see the girl leave the premises. She flashed a satisfactory smile and held out an open palm, gesturing to the exit.

"I do hope you make it home safely," her voice flat and unsympathetic.

Varinia padded across the room and took one last look at Xena who followed her every step. She paused just before stepping out into the rain and furrowed her eyebrows.

Just before sunrise, Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open. Rain poured down on the rooftop which caused her head to throb immensely. She glanced at the familiarity of her surroundings and sat up too swiftly and her vision blurred.

A hand cupped the side of her head and she let out a muffled groan. Once her vision returned, she recognized she was in bed underneath the blankets. In the darkness there was a figure sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Morning." Xena leaned forward into the candlelight.

Gabrielle snuffed a laugh and winced at the dull ache in her front lobe. She folded her legs and yawned audibly.

"I guess I've made a fool of myself last night," said admitted bashfully. "You stayed here all night…with me?"

Xena faintly smiled and inclined her head.

"That's so unlike you," she chuckled. "You usually disappear."

"I couldn't leave you like that. It was my fault."

Gabrielle rubbed her neck, "you didn't force me to drink the wine."

"But I didn't stop you either," Xena took a quick look at the throat wound. "Do you know that girl who came by last night?"

"Girl?" her mind was foggier than she thought."Oh, oh…her," she grunted. "No, I don't know her."

"She seemed to know you or do you always have weeping women at your doorstep in the middle of the night?" Xena suspiciously asked.

Gabrielle swallowed. "We…we met a couple of times but I'm not friends with her."

Xena tapped her thumbs together in silence. Gabrielle began scratching her throat wound and instantly, Xena stood from the chair and looked for the salve. She found it by the bedside and then sat on the edge of the bed, enclosing on Gabrielle's space.

"You shouldn't scratch that," she said softly. Dipping her fingers in the salve, she pulled Gabrielle's hair back. "May I?"

Gabrielle gave a slow unsteady head nod. The salve was applied to the wound and she flinched at the soft touch of her client's fingers. She was so used to touching her clients' faces or hands to position them for portraits. She wouldn't have guessed that it felt so personal but she recalled when she touched Xena's face during one of their painting sessions.

Xena was so taken aback by the touch that she snatched Gabrielle's hand firmly. She never forgot about the reaction she received from Xena that night. Perhaps she didn't like to be touched by someone. Perhaps it was too personal or an invasion of privacy. Gabrielle began to feel those exact same feelings the more Xena encroached.

She closed her eyes and turned her cheek away as Xena kept applying the ointment to her wound.

"You were going to tell me something last night," Xena spoke softly.

"I was?"

"About your attacker. You believe you know who she is." She gently smoothed her fingertips on the blonde's neck.

Gabrielle rubbed her lips together and took a long pause. "You're going to think this is crazy."

Xena smirked. "Try me."

"I…think that Xena attacked me," she blurted out plainly and the fingers halted on the middle of the wound. Her eyes enlarged for a moment but she added, "I think she's been watching me."

Gabrielle turned her cheek to her client and grabbed her hand. Xena held her breath, staring at the fingers intertwined with hers.

"She came by the shop asking for me. She was here, looking for me." She sighed heavily. "I know she is the one who attacked me. I know it doesn't make any sense. I don't know why she'd come looking for me! I have no idea what she looks like."

Xena heard white noise as Gabrielle kept talking. Her slender fingers pressed against the hand which held hers. Her mouth gaped and she met eyes with Gabrielle.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this," she wagged her head with a mock of a smile. "I take back what I said about you being hard to talk to. You're a good listener."

"She…she came in here, asking to see you?" Xena was barely able to speak and she wasn't sure if she could hear herself.

Gabrielle nodded. "I wasn't here at the time but she spoke to one of our sculptors. I don't know why she wanted to speak with me. She never came back by."

Xena eyebrow twitched and she squeezed Gabrielle's hand tightly until her knuckles turned white. She now understood why Gabrielle was so flustered lately and unfocused. Her blood boiled within and her heart hammered rapidly.

You're dead, Gölge.