Chapter four
"You take the orphanage and we'll take the man's house." Hercules said when they had figured out, which place was in better condition.
"Alright thanks." Xena said. They kissed each other to Gabrielle and Iolaus' surpise.
"You two want to tell us what's going on?" Iolaus asked shivering a little more than Gabrielle from the biting winds of winter.
"We're together now." Xena said simply.
"In that case I'll stay with Iolaus so I can effectively grill you tomorrow." Gabrielle said.
"I would expect nothing less from you." Xena said as her and Hercules departed for the Orphanage. The woman showed them to a room and they retired after a hasty dinner. The children had already eaten and gone to bed. They shared a quiet, but passionate night together. In the morning a blizzard had made its way into Greece and was going strong, so they stayed in bed just taking comfort in each other.
"Gabrielle is going to be angry she can't grill you for all the details now." Hercules said with a grin. His words put a small smile on Xena's face.
"I know, and Iolaus will be too, he didn't say so but he wants to grill you for all the details." Xena said.
"Which reminds me of another downside to a blizzard." Hercules said.
"What?" Xena asked.
"They have time to come up with more questions." Hercules said. Xena goaned.
"And Gabrielle can go on for hours I'm sure." Xena said.
"So can Iolaus." They goaned at the same time and than there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Xena asked.
"Its me Georgina." She said. She was in charge of the children of the orphanage.
"Come in." Xena said after they had dressed quickly. Georgina came in.
"I know you two were sleeping in and all, but could I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, ask away." Hercules said.
"Would you mind terribly if you had to watch the children for a time?" Georgina asked,"You see my mother is sick and I must go to her, but I can't leave the children alone."
"No, not all go take care of your mother." Hercules said without thinking. Xena had decided on sleeping in the first place aside from the blizzard, because she didn't want to see the Children.
"Could you give me a hand getting there?" She asked.
"Yea."
"Oh thank you very much." Georgina said leaving out.
"Hercules." Xena said.
"Oh sorry." Hercules said as he remembered.
"Its fine, but I'm taking her." Xena said.
"No, no I can't let you do that, you know how easily you catch a cold when there's a blizzard going." Hercules said. They argued and finally Hercules won out and escorted Georgina to her mother's, which was on the other side of the village. Xena went downstairs. They looked at her and she looked at them.
"Why don't you all go do whatever it is you do." Xena said.
"We can't there's to much snow." Said one girl matter of factly.
"Ok well why don't you all go do what you normally do when you can't go outside."
"Ok." They said. She turned to go into the kitchen for an apple not wanting to diminish their food stores. They followed her into the kitchen.
"Georgina said no one was to touch the apples." said one kid.
"What about bread and cheese?" Xena asked.
"You can have that." another kid said. Xena got that and turned around.
"Well I thought you were all gonna do what you do when there's nothing to do outside."
"We are doing what we do when there's nothing to do outside." They said.
"Ok, why don't you all go quiz each other on how well you know the alphabet." Xena said. They did as they were told. After she finished her bread and cheese she picked out the oldest kid.
"Are all of you accounted for?" Xena asked him.
"No, there are twenty of us and only sixteen of us are here." He said.
"Where are the other four?" Xena asked.
"One kid always stays up in his room and little one is always hanging around him, but Gregor and the other kid are outside."
"What, why didn't you say something." He only shugged as she went outside and searched for the two boys. It didn't take long, because the two boys who'd been having a snow fight in the middle of a blizzard were now frightened and seemed loss. She dragged them back in by their ears.
"Now you two will stay inside or next time I'll tan your hides for pulling a stunt like that. There's a reason everyone else is in here bored out of their minds, now stay and share our bordom." Xena said.
"Yes ma'am." They said. Xena sighed she wondered why it was always the red headed twins that were so mischievious. She went upstairs to check on the proclaimed little one. There was no telling how little he was and he could be getting into anything. It took her minute, but she found the room. The little boy walked over to her all smiles. It was clear he was very trusting if he didn't feel like you posed a threat to him.
"Hey little guy what are you doing up here all a lone?" Xena asked. The little boy was between 11 months and actually being a year old. He smiled at her when she smiled back. He let her check him out and make sure he was fine before he wanted to be put down. She put him down and watched him walk back over to a dirty boy in the corner. It was obvious that he cried often from the tear trail going down the side of his face. He was asleep and Xena's heart went out to him. She walked over and woke him up. He awoke with a start and when she looked into his eyes she was startled by the sadness located in them.
"Who are you?" He asked frightened.
"I'm Xena, Georgina's just gone to see about her mother, so I'll be watching you until she gets back."
"Xena, the warrior princess?" He asked.
"Yea." Xena said.
"Than you know Kaleipus, the centaur." He said.
"Yes, yes I do why?" Xena asked.
"He sent me away with the other children only I was to take a detour and find you."
"For what ?" Xena asked.
"I was suppose to tell you to Raise him."
"You mean Solan?" Xena asked.
"I suppose he was referring to Solan, but I went back to tell him that you weren't where rumors said you were, but when I got back everything was gone it was destroyed, I had to bury my parent's body. Not just them, but everyone. It took me alnight before I realized I had to finish burning what was left of them and that a proper burial could not be given at least by me digging. " He started crying and Xena comforted him and tried to reasure him that he would be ok.
"Do you know where the other children went?" Xena asked.
"Um...I don't know some were headed North towards Amphipolis while others were headed for Athens. I think mostly Centaurs headed north though." Xena only nodded and for the next two days before the blizzard had gone, she comforted the boy. When they were on their way and headed for Athens Hercules inquired about it all knowing that eventually she'd tell him what he wanted to know.
"Xena, slow down tell us what's going on?" Hercules asked.
"There's a chance Solan's alive some of them were evacuated while some mostly centaurs headed for Amphipolis, the others went to Athens, so that's where we're going."
"Solan, whose is Solan?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yea." Iolaus said.
"I'll explain later, but right now we have to hurry, I have to know." Xena said. At the next village they barrowed a horse. Gabrielle rode with Xena and Hercules and Iolaus on the second. They rode two leauges that night before stopping.
"Only three miles to Athens, so we could make it there by midday at the latest." Hercules said after dinner.
"Now that we're resting am I going to get an explanation?" Gabrielle asked.
"Solan's my son." Xena said. Gabrielle and Iolaus, who'd been about to add more questions to Gabrielle's one, were stunned into silence.
"Look guys Xena thought he was killed, it was one of the main reasons we were going to stop Dagnine. I mean aside from ixion stone."
"But Dagnine gave up on the stone and went after the next village." said Gabrielle.
"Remember what that one guard said," Xena said," I didn't really give it much thought now."
"What'd he say?" Iolaus asked.
"He said someone got away with the stone, the caverns had been empty." said Hercules.
"Yea, so its crucial that we find them all before Dagnine does, because he wasn't in his camp."
"You said he was. " Gabrielle said.
"Yea, well after killing most of his army I was exhausted and I assumed he ran like the coward he is, I didn't put two in two together at the time because I was over whelmed." Xena said.
"Ok, so let me get this straight," Gabrielle said," You have a son, who you thought was dead, but turns out may actually be alive; Not to mention the fact that you let Dagnine get away and now there's a chance that he's gone after the children that escaped because one of them might be holding the ixion stone." She looked to Xena questioningly.
"Yea pretty much accept now he should have a good sized army to back him up." Xena said.
"Ok than we better get some sleep and when this is all over I swear we are having a long, long talk about expressing our feelings and letting our best friends know what's going on."
"Whatever you say." Xena said, but it was obvious she was now thinking ahead to when she did come face to face with her son. Soon everyone was laying in their bedrolls, but none of them could get to sleep easily as their minds were racing.