Daughter of the Warrior Queen

CHAPTER ONE: MIST AND FIRE

Hello, and thank you for the reviews! No responses yet, so the answer still remains unknown. Well, I won't ask another until this one is answered, sorry!

Okay, this chapter is dedicated to Kevin Smith, who died in Beijing, February 2002. Forever thirty-eight, Kevin will always hold a special place in the hearts of all Xena fans as the one and only Ares. We love you, Kev!

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The woman pleaded with the warrior in black armor for her life and her child's, the five-year-old clutched in her arms. Without a second thought, the warrior stabbed her heart and slit her child's throat.

"No! Stop!" A man cried as his mother was stabbed repeatedly in the back. Moiro smiled at the screams and death throes all around her. Athanasia grabbed both sides of a man's face and jerked his head to the side, rejoicing at the crack of the man's neck breaking. A little boy ran by Moiro. She reached out and grabbed him, holding him in front of her.

"Tell me, child," She whispered in his ear. "What do you see?" The boy looked around.

"I-I...see...d-death," He whispered. Moiro closed her eyes, relishing the sadness in his voice. She took a dagger out of her belt.

"Where are your mother and father?" She asked.

"Dead," The boy said. Moiro showed him the dagger.

"Would you like to join them?" She asked. The little boy nodded and took the dagger. Moiro placed her hands over his and gently guided the dagger to the boy's stomach. The child fell back on to her shoulder. Moiro kissed his cheek and laid him down. She stood up and watched as another warrior dragged a woman out of her house and threw her off her porch. He followed her down and mercilessly kicked her ribs, neck, back, and face.

"Please help me!" A young girl with a sooty face begged her. Moiro smiled at the girl.

"Why should I?" She asked.

"I'll do anything! Anything!" The girl screamed. Moiro regarded the girl for a moment.

"You see that boy?" She gestured to the child she had helped commit suicide. The girl nodded. "I want you to take him out of here and bury him. Then come back and I'll let you live as my servant, and possibly a henchman." The girl nodded.

"What is your name?" Moiro asked her.

"Andromeda," The girl said. Andromeda. Moiro nodded.

"You might prove useful," She told her. "Now get to it." The girl lifted the boy's body and pulled him away by his arms.

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"Xena! Xena, look!" Gabrielle pointed west. Smoke was curling into the sky. Xena saw and started riding toward it, the blond following her. Joxer, having been caught unawares, ran after them, his heavy armor clanking noisily.

"Don't you worry about me!" He yelled after them. "I'm Joxer the Mighty! I can run all day! You go on ahead, I'm fine!" The two women consented and rode hard. Joxer finally stumbled and slowed down, unable to keep running.

"Go...go on...I'm...fine," he gasped. "Whew...why does the sun have to be so hot?...I...I'm so...so tired..."

--

Moiro gazed in satisfaction at the destroyed village. Not a soul still lived. Save the girl. Andromeda.

"Girl! Come here," Moiro yelled to her. Andromeda ran forward. "You will run behind Athanasia's horse. And, to make sure you don't fall behind...Athanasia, lash her hands to the saddle." Athanasia pulled a cord from her saddle bag and tied one end to the saddle horn, grabbed Andromeda's hands, and roughly tied them with the other end. Andromeda could feel the blood draining from her hands. Moiro dug her heels into her horse's sides and rode off.

"Haa!" Athanasia yelled, her arm in the air.

"HAA!" The warriors of Moiro repeated as they rode off, Andromeda trying her best not to fall while running along side a galloping horse.