Chapter One
Fifteen years later:
"Mother." Solan said. Xena smiled. She loved Gabrielle for telling him now. She didn't agree with her for going behind her back, but now she was just happy to be with her son. She dreaded having to take him back to the centaur village. But the only way Kaliepus would let him go without a fight was if she swore that she would bring him back after two seasons. She would keep him Winter and Spring. And he would be in the Centaur village in the Summer and Fall. She watched Solan run over to her.
"What is it?" Xena asked hugging him.
"I see the village up ahead." Solan said excited to meet his grandmother. It was nearly winter solstice.
"Good." Xena said. Gabrielle walked up beside her.
"Xena." Gabrielle said."Can we stop for a while Lila's tired." Xena nodded. She ran off with Solan to have a snowball fight while they rested. Solan was full of energy like her and could walk for hours, before actually becoming tired.
"Hey!" Gabrielle shouted when they double teamed her. They laughed and ran as she chased after them.
"Gabby can't catch us!" They teased as they laughed. They split up knowing she couldn't very well get them both. They laughed even harder as they sat in a tree together laughing as she tried to throw snowballs up at them and couldn't reach. They could barely feel the splatter of the snowflakes with the hit the tree. They watched as one came back down and hit her in the face. Lila came over laughing. They could see a snowball clearly behind her back. Gabrielle couldn't as she brushed the snow off her face.
"Face full of ice just like when we were kids." Lila said.
"If I remember correctly you were the one with the face full of ice." Gabrielle said.
"Glad you cleared that up for me Gabby, because now its your turn at my hands." Lila said. She got her right in the face and ran. They laughed as Gabrielle chased Lila. They gathered snow from the trees and got them both. But than they helped Lila up the tree.
"Gabby can't catch us!" They teased."Gabby can't catch us!"
"Oh just you wait. I'll get you three one day." Gabrielle said shaking her fist at them. They laughed some more. Finally they all got down and let her get them, so they could continue on without having to be on guard all the time. They hurried towards Amphipolis when Xena detected the on coming of an early winter blizzard. It was still a little to early for snow, but there was just enough snow for a snowball fight.
"Mother!" Xena called. The tavern was empty of all patrons at this moment. She could smell dinner being prepared. The waitresses were cleaning up and smiled at her when she walked in. She returned it. They were some of the few people that still liked her even after what happened. They were outkasts and only welcomed her to their group of outkasts.
"Xena." Cyrene said.
"Mother, I want you to meet Solan your grandson." Xena said after she hugged her mother.
"Grandson?" Cyrene asked. Xena nodded. Solan hugged her.
"Nice to meet you grandmother." Solan said. Cyrene was so happy. After a minute she remember to greet Gabrielle and meet her sister, Lila.
"Its nice meeting your Lila, I was beginning to wonder if Gabrielle had any family these days despite all she says about you all." Cyrene said. Lila laughed a little.
"Yep, that's our Gabby. Alwasy talking." Lila said. Cyrene laughed too as did Xena and Solan.
"You all must be straving I'll get you some of the left overs from lunch they're still warm." Cyrene said. She fed them and ordered the waitresses to prepare four rooms.
"So where has he been all these years?" Cyrene asked once they'd all settled down to sleep in until dinner except Xena, who was dressed for it.
"Centaur village." Xena said."And before you get mad, because I didn't tell you. I did it for his protection. And well now there is no point because Gabrielle went behind my back and told him before I could. Of course we talked and argued. But in the end he was ok with me being his mother. Than he got mad at Kaliepus his adoptive father."
"And what about his real father?" Cyrene asked.
"He died the night he was born. Murdered. I don't know by who." Xena said a little sadly. Cyrene could see that things might have been a bit different in her daughter's life if Solan's father had lived.
"Does he know that?" Cyrene asked.
"Yes." Xena said.
"What of his adoptive father?" Cyrene asked.
"He's furious at Gabrielle. Solan knowing for him meant me taking him away for ever." Xena said."Of course when he knew I wanted to take him away. That's what Solan wanted. But we all talked and decided that as his mother I was entitled to take him away, but I'd given him to Kaliepus and that entitled him to spend time with Solan as father and son as well. But the problem was that I always travel and Solan would be traveling with me. Kaliepus stays in one place. So I now keep him with me for half the year. Winters and Springs. And he stays in the centaur village in the Summers and Falls. "
"He should be with you year around." Cyrene said.
"He will be. I plan on sticking around as much as possible in the Summers and Falls." Xena said.
"Good." Cyrene said."When's his birthday?"
"End of winter, start of spring." Xena said.
"Good, we'll give him a big party to celebrate his --" Cyrene paused looking for an answer from Xena.
"Tenth birthday." Xena said.
"Good." Cyrene said."We haven't missed nearly all his young life yet."
"Course not mother. You'd have known about him than." Xena said."I'll see you later." She got her some grapes before heading upstairs.
"Can you spare some food?" a little girl asked. Xena looked up from her scoll. She had a list of widowed old women who could use a hand. Her mother said she'd send her right over to help as soon as she arrived. And she did the very next day. Now she'd just finished a week later.
"Are you an orphan?" Xena asked seeing the girl in rags. She looked half frozen and practically bare foot.
"Yes." The girl said.
"How old are you?" Xena asked.
"This many." The girl said holding up three fingers. Xena thought this was horrible. A three year old girl should not have to beg on the streets. How could she have not noticed her around before.
"Well why don't you come with me, and I'll get you some food at the tavern." Xena said smiling at her. The girl smiled as Xena wrapped her in her cloak. Than she frowned suddenly.
"What's wrong?" Xena asked.
"I can't George will get mad
at me." She said."He's sick and told me to stay with him."
"Well why don't you take me to George I'm a healer." Xena said picking her up. The little girl helped her find her way to George. He was lying between a tent and a building with no windows this far back except for one at the top where one could clearly hear a whore and her patron. This was no place for children.
"George." She said. He didn't move."He sleeping." Xena nodded and put the girl down on a clean patch of ground.
"Stay there." Xena said." She checked George's pulse. He'd frozen as late as that night. His body was stiff and cold. His lips blue. She sighed. No child should die like this.
"George!" said a boy. He limped over.
"Marcus." the little girl said.
"What did you do?" Marcus asked her.
"Nothing, he's gone." Xena said."She brought me here."
"I told you not to let the adults find us. Now they'll take us back to the orphanage." Marcus said to her. He coughed. Xena patted his back as he fell down. She caught him.
"Look I'm not going to take you back to the orphanage. Not yet anyway." She said."Now what's the girl's name?"
"Charity." Marcus said.
"Are you all related?" Xena asked. Marcus nodded.
"What your name?" Charity asked as she took them back to the tavern.
"Xena." Xena said.
"Please don't take us back to the orphanage we'll run away before we let you." Marcus said.
"You mean the orphanage here?" Xena asked. Marcus shook his head and nodded at the same time.
"The lady was horrible at our old orphanage. She beat us every day. So George and I took Charity and ran away. The lady here she doesn't beat us, but she doesn't feed us or cloth us properly. We ran away, but were taken back. The lady kicked us out afterwards."
"Well I'll do something about that." Xena said."But right now your health needs to improve." Charity would only talk to Xena and Marcus after that in a whisper. She was shy in front of Gabrielle, Lila, Solan, and Cyrene. They changed their clothes to ones that worn and torn. They got them warm shoes. But Marcus was put straight to bed rest. He was really sick. They burned George's body.
"Xena." Charity said running after her. She wouldn't stay with anybody else. Xena waited for her and went up to the orphanage to see what the conditions were. Solan came with her.
"Oh thank you for bringing back the little darling I was so worried about her." said the woman. She obviously didn't know who Xena was.
"I didn't bring her back to stay." Xena said."Excuse us." She pushed passed her. The orphanage was in poor condition. Of course it was out of the way and not many in the village would know about it.
"Can I help you?" She asked dislike evident.
"Yes, where are all the children?" Xena asked.
"Still a bed." She said.
"Take me to them." Xena said disgusted by the rat she saw run across the floor. There were hardly any toys and there was a draft. She noticed the woman was clothed in good furs compared to the thin material Charity and Marcus had worn. She saw that Solan noticed too.
"No, I shan't like to disturb them. " She said.
"You know what guys I think I'm starting to remember where they sleep." Xena said. Solan and Charity followed her. She entered the room and found that it was empty. In fact it looked like a noble lady lived there. The room had always been the warmest room in the building whether it was in good condition or bad condition. The children had always slept in here. Sometimes the woman who watched over them slept here too. Or took the smaller room built for one person. It wasn't as warm, but they had privacy. But this woman had actually kicked them out of it.
"Please get out of my room. " said the woman.
"Where are the children?" Xena anger evident in her voice. The lady looked her up and down once and showed her to their room. It had a whole in the roof where snow had come through. It was very cold. The shutters didn't even close all the way. The child lay in bed coughing and trying to stay warm in ratty blankets.
"Why is it that the children are sick and in this horrible room while you live in the comfort of a queen?" Xena asked.
"Well they're orphans." She said.
"They're children." Xena said as she went from bed to bed. checking their pulses. Most were weak and others were strong. There were sick that had none. Froze to death. She shook her head as she put their covers over their heads. The six dead were around Charity's age.
"Your point." She said.
"They should be warm and eatting regularly. They should be playing out in the snow having fun. Not sitting in this horrible room freezing to death in these horrible conditions. " Xena said.
"Well if I had more money maybe they could have these things." She said.
"No, if you didn't spend the money given to the orphanage on yourself you wouldn't have six children to bury." Xena said."Six, three and five years olds." The woman didn't seem to care.
"All of you get up if you can. I want you to go into her room find anything in there to keep you warm. Don't worry about her she's my problem." Xena ordered. They did as she said. She and Solan carried some of the weaker ones in there.
"Solan run home and ask your grandmother to give you enough food for them. Perhaps spare some blankets. We can't take them all there." Xena said. Solan nodded and did as he was told.
"And you, you are going to the cemetery to dig six graves. Don't come back until you do." Xena said. She showed the woman her chakram, which she was never without. The woman with a shovel to do so. Xena checked the pulses again just to be sure. One little boy was still alive. She carried him to the other room. She found no food in the orphanage, but she found tea, which she heated up for them all. They thanked her as she got a fire started. Charity watched her as she helped to warm the boy up. Cyrene, Gabrielle, and Lila came baring more clothes, food, and blankets. Also Solan thought to bring her healer's kit.
"Solan watch him." Xena said. Solan nodded and tried to warm the boy like she showed him. They all changed clothes and wrapped themselves in a warm blanket drawing closer to the fire with food in hand. Xena mixed medicine and they all took it. Anything to avoid death even if it was nasty. The little boy was a year old now that she looked at him.
"Anybody know his name?" Cyrene asked.
"Cassius." said some one with a mouth full of food.
"Xena will he make it?" Cyrene asked.
"Completely up to him now." Xena said."I've done all I possibly can." They nodded.