Responsibility
"Xena, who do you get scrolls from every month?" Gabrielle asked. Xena looked up from the scroll she was reading.
"I get scrolls from my sister's lover about my niece."
"Sister?" Gabrielle asked turning around. She was going through the contents over her bag in the room of a tavern. Xena sat cross-legged on the floor in lotus position having been meditating a few minutes before Gabrielle had brought the scroll up.
"Yes." She didn't offer anymore information about her sister.
"But how does he manage to send one to you every month?" Gabrielle asked. "We're never in the same place."
"He just does." Gabrielle was frustrated with Xena, she wanted to know about this mysterious sister and where she was. Why wasn't she writing Xena letters?
"Why doesn't she write you letters?" Gabrielle asked.
"She does now drop it," Xena commanded. Gabrielle did vowing to find out once they reached Amphipolis. Xena stood up and dressed in her leathers trying not to think of what her sister had become. Her sweet, pure, innocent sister or at least she used to be. She made sure she had collected all over her things and told Gabrielle she would meet her in the barn.
"So why are we going back to Amphipolis so soon?" Gabrielle asked.
"I told you mother's sick and its also my turn to help out a friend." They had only been together for a year now and Xena was beginning to find Gabrielle's presence almost irritating.
"Right, right, when can we visit the amazons we haven't been that way in a while."
"Soon after mother's all right I suppose." Gabrielle nodded happily. They covered the last twelve miles to Amphipolis on Argo's back. Xena after stabling Argo immediately went upstairs to her mother's room. The tavern having been closed for the past few days was dark and in need of a good cleaning.
"Mom, how are you feeling?" Xena asked. She was glad that she had made up with mother. She had even told her mother about Solan, who in turn talked her into telling him saying she'd just die if Xena get to be a mother to a child. And if she didn't get to be a grandmother before reminding her of Sophia's children whom neither of them had ever met. Or so she thought. Xena had met all her nieces and Sophia asked her to let them live with their father's so she hadn't taken them, but merely demanded the father's write to her about them giving them a specific month.
"Better now that you're here, I would have been up on my feet days ago, but ever since Selma, Jennifer, and Wendy perished in that wagon accident its just been terrible finding help around here." Xena nodded.
"Well you should have sent for me days ago, it was lucky I was coming back here and someone was able to alert me." Cyrene started coughing and Xena helped her sit up before patting her back.
"Anastasia , you're such a little healer as usual." Xena smiled at the use of her first name.
"Mom, you know I am a certified healer now?" Xena asked. Cyrene nodded.
"Of course, but you're my little healer." Xena nodded.
"Well I'll get clean sheets and blankets for your bed after I heat up a bath for you, Gabrielle will make you some soup." Cyrene nodded. She lay in bed with a cup of willow bark tea Xena had brought up and watched and listened to her walk out to the village well several times heating up two buckets of water at a time before hauling it up to her room. Gabrielle set about collecting all of Cyrene's dirty laundry and was preparing to take it into the yard behind the inn where she washed clothing.
"All right, let's get you relaxed in a nice warm bath." Cyrene nodded and allowed Xena to help her slightly surprised at how gentle Xena's touch was marveling at how easy it must have been for Sophia to just relax in her sister's care over the years.
"You just relax." Cyrene nodded and watched her daughter efficiently and quickly changed the sheets and blankets on her bed and replaced them with fresh ones. She swept the floor, emptied the chamber pot she had been using rather than the outhouse finding too much of her strength left her if she did. She put new candles in the chandelier and lit them as the sun sunk down over the horizon. When she was dressed in a clean nightgown and lying in bed with Xena crushing some herbs beside Gabrielle came in with freshly baked bread and rabbit stew, Cyrene's favorite when she was sick.
"Any letters?" Cyrene asked as her daughter sprinkled the crushed herbs in her stew and stirred it. Xena contemplated telling her about Sophia's latest letter and as she thought back to the contents of it she realized that it wasn't Sophia's usual letter.
"Yeah, she's on the coast down south enjoying the ocean air, and she's doing quite well."
"To live, vacation, work?"
"Um…I think it was to live, she says she's not working much anymore these days." Cyrene nodded hoping her darling daughter had slown down as Xena had. Gabrielle listened to the exchange and figured that they were talking about Xena's sister. She wondered what work exactly she did and what was her name.
"Torres came by he said he saw you," Cyrene said.
"Yeah, we finally brought Cortese to justice." Cyrene nodded.
"He told me." Xena nodded as well.
"Where has he gone off too?" Xena asked curious as to why he wasn't home helping their mother.
"Oh I forget, but he said he'd be back around to stay." Xena nodded wondering if he were catching with old friends had left the village or pursuing a love interest he had left behind somewhere, because of Cortese. Cyrene listened to Xena catch her up on their adventures though promising a much better tale from Gabrielle later. Cyrene always did look forward to the young bard's tales of their lives.
"What of Solan when will he come visit me?" Cyrene asked.
"I haven't told him yet, I was coming back here to help with Aleathia, you know we all took a vow we would look after her and its my turn since I didn't for five years due to my activities." Cyrene nodded her understanding. Cyrene finished her dinner and allowed her daughter to give her some sleeping herbs. Her fever was still high enough to prevent her from getting a goodnight rest. Once her mother had fallen asleep Xena went downstairs.
"So where shall we start tomorrow?" Gabrielle asked.
"We start tonight becomes mother is losing business and if she wants we can open it at lunch." Gabrielle nodded.
"I suppose I'll be doing all the cooking," Gabrielle said.
"Yeah, but I'll help, so you'll get your chance to tell stories, but there's something I must take care of." Gabrielle nodded. They finished dinner and Xena collected water to wash the dishes inside the tavern. After all the dishes, pots, pans, cups, and utensils were cleaned they began to scrub down tables and chairs. Xena got the floors while Gabrielle replaced candles and cleared any new spider webs.
"This place looks brand new," Gabrielle commented brightly. Xena nodded.
"Come on let's get some rest." Gabrielle nodded and they went upstairs to their respective rooms. They were up early to clean out rooms and get Cyrene breakfast.
"Would you like us to open the tavern today or tomorrow?" Xena asked.
"In three days perhaps when I've gotten more rest and my strength." Xena nodded.
"Well I leave you in the care of Gabrielle for a couple of hours." Cyrene nodded as Gabrielle came in with several scrolls ready to tell Cyrene tales of their latest adventures. Xena bid them farewell and went in search of her friends.
"Anastasia !" Victoria exclaimed. They were in the habit of greeting each other as Anastasia and than referring to the other by a nickname.
"Anastasia !" Xena shouted back. They hugged.
"How have you been?" Xena asked.
"Great, great I'm just so happy you're back in the village now, I've missed you." Xena nodded. She missed Victoria too. They had written to each other during her warlord years while Victoria was off becoming the Queen of thieves and she was better than even Autolycus.
"Where're the other girls?" Xena asked.
"Well you know Cerelia's become quite the con artist the Queen of it in fact and Alexandra is an amazon."
"The only one of us to achieve our dream." Victoria shook her head.
"Not the way I heard it, I heard when your blond friend challenged the queen of her amazon tribe she made you her champion and you won. Therefore you're an amazon even if you didn't keep your right as Queen." Xena shrugged.
"I suppose if we get all technical yes I am an amazon princess of sorts now, but I have crimes against the amazons so I cannot claim the proud title."
"Yes we've heard," Alexandra said appearing behind them. They both looked at her. "As far as I'm concerned you've redeemed yourself by saving another tribe from near slaughter plus the centaurs."
"I can't forgive myself for what I did."
"Maybe, but know my tribe forgives you, most have family in that tribe." Xena nodded and soon they were hugging and smiling at each other.
"Hey you guys started the party without me," Cerelia pouted appearing out of nowhere.
"Now all the Anastasia s are here."
"Yeah and we're minus one Sophia," Xena said silently. They all knew that Sophia was more driven to kill than Xena had ever been, Xena just liked slaughtering by the masses. Not only did she lust for blood she was full of greed more then the four of them combined and that's saying something being one of them was a thief.
"So what is everyone doing here, I thought it was my turn." Everyone turned to look at Victoria.
"Well it is your turn, but I have a little problem that I think we should all discuss." She led them inside the spacious hut. It was clean and warm just the way Aleathia always wanted her home. They went to the back room which was full of light and found a very pregnant Aleathia.
"Oh no," They all groaned.
"You too?" They asked each other. Xena looked at them confused.
"Well look this is the fourth time this has happened, I just thought it was the second, but as you can see I was wrong," Victoria said. Xena nodded. "All I know is the first time I was taking care of her I noticed she was pregnant, I contemplated getting rid of the child, but I knew if she could speak, move, or even hear she would not want me to rid her of the child. So I took ultra careful care of her and the child grew when the time came for it to be born for the first time I saw real recognition of pain can you believe it?" Alexandra and Cerelia nodded.
"Same thing happened to us on our first times," Cerelia said having shared what happened with Alexandra.
"And what happen to these children?" Xena asked.
"We kept them passed them off as adopted by us," Alexandra said remembering their excuses and her own for the child.
"I'm afraid she's going to die this time," Victoria said seriously.
"No worries, I'm a healer and she might just be fine this time." They nodded. They moved her to the tavern where Xena explained to Gabrielle what was going on and they watched over her day and night alternating between visiting with Cyrene and handling other business as well. Finally she went into labor and Xena delivered a healthy baby girl.
"I'll take her," Xena told them as Aleathia slipped away. They nodded.
"What shall we name her?" They asked.
"Allissia is perfect for her." They nodded. Cyrene accepted Allissia as her new granddaughter, but told them to keep her away from her. She didn't want Allissia getting sick because of her. Cerelia, Alexandra, and Victoria left a week later to retrieve her sisters Megan, Kelly, and Tina. Megan was five, Kelly was three, and Tina was two.
"I can't believe you adopted a child," Gabrielle said as they watched her sleep.
"I had too, if I didn't I would forever be ashamed that Aleathia ever called me a friend." Gabrielle nodded her understanding.
"Would you adopt my child for me?" Gabrielle asked. Xena nodded.
"Only because I would love him or her and I knew you would want me too." Gabrielle smiled. The days passed and Cyrene regained her strength and Allissia was growing strong and fat with a wet nurse near her at all times to feed, but she spent most of her time in Xena's arms bonding. Soon the girls returned with her siblings and they all got to know each other.