Chapter 2 of Bard and the Conqueror
Jett and Joxer sat in front of the fire in the tavern. Jett was spitting pieces of leather into the fire. Joxer tried to copy him but failed. Jett groaned at the sight of saliva dripping down his younger brother's face.
'I still can't believe Gabrielle refused me! She is probably delusional. No, she IS delusional! No one says 'no' to me!' ranted Jett.
'Too right!' agreed Joxer.
'Thrown out. Snubbed. Publicly dishonoured. I can't bear the shame. I'm disgraced,' continued Jett.
'More ale?' asks Joxer, offering a wooden mug.
Jett grabbed both and cast them into the flames. Joxer flinched and sighed. He owed the tavern owner new mugs again. Or maybe he could just drop Jett's name in the hopes that his brother's reputation and half ownership of the tavern will get him out of this debt.
'It's useless. Nothing helps. My life isn't worth living,' muttered Jett.
'Who, yours? Jett, my brother, you've got to get it together!' exclaimed Joxer. 'It's so weird to see you like this. You've never like this.'
Jett sneered at him and flicked his hand dismissively.
'And besides, everyone wants to be you Jett! They'd even be glad to have your bad days!' continued Joxer. 'Everyone loves you and they adore you!'
Joxer waved over some of the local lads. They raised their eyebrows at him. Joxer turned back to Jett for the moment.
'You're the slickest, the quickest and you have the most manly neck,' Joxer started up again. 'Just ask Perdicus, Talus or Virgil. If they were in an army, they'd want you to be general!'
The guys mentioned all looked at each other and nodded.
'That's true. Everyone admires you, Jett,' said Perdicus.
'I guess that's not hard to believe,' commented Jett.
'He's quite a guy,' said Talus to Virgil.
'And he's strong!' added Joxer.
Virgil decided to pat Jett on the back, and immediately regretted the action as he is engaged in an impromptu wrestling match. He howled as Jett added his teeth to the mix.
'By the gods! He is so manly!' squealed Diana.
'Pwaise Hestia! I'm sure she added her blessings to his good looks!' exclaimed Leah.
'Check out his oral power!' gushed Meg, as Jett sends a piece of leather all the way across the room into the face of the unfortunate tavern owner.
Jett smiled at the sight of everyone's eyes pasted onto him.
'As a kid I ate half of the eggs the chickens produced. But now that I'm grown, I eat all of them,' announced Jett.
He tossed an egg at Joxer, who decided to try and catch it in his mouth instead of just dodging it. It splattered all over his face. Everybody burst out laughing.
Jett retrieved his crossbow and aimed at his brother who is trying to run out of the way while cleaning the yolk off of his face. Jett fired quickly four times and pinned Joxer against the wall with the bolts. Jett casually rubbed his crossbow clean and leant back into his chair.
Lila fell through the door of the tavern.
'Please! Someone, please help me!' she cried.
'Lila? What's the matter?' asked Perdicus.
'You have got to help me! We need to rescue her! She's been locked in a dungeon!' exclaimed Lila, grabbing hold Perdicus.
'Who's been locked away?' asked Joxer, as he lunged away from the wall to free himself.
'Gabrielle! She's been taken prisoner by a beast!' said Lila.
Meg, Diana and Leah all laughed at Lila. Meg nudged Diana and Leah.
'I see someone has been indulging in the wrong kinds of mushrooms again. She and her sister will eat anything!' whispered Leah.
'Lila, was it a great big beast?' asked Meg.
'Yes! With a coat as dark as midnight!' answered Lila, relieved that someone was taking her seriously.
'Does it have great, sharp teeth?' asked Diana.
'It could tear a cow to shreds!' replied Lila. 'Please, won't you help me?'
'Sure, we'll help you out, Lila,' said Jett, signalling to Virgil and Talus.
They grabbed Lila by the arms and cast her out back into the snow.
Lila scrambled to her knees with a pained look on her face. She turned to look at the silhouettes in the window of the tavern.
'Please…' she whispered, even though she knew no one was listening.
'That Lila, she's as nuts as her sister! Gabrielle is probably running naked through the forest!' exclaimed Perdicus.
Everyone returned to whatever they were doing before they were cheering up Jett. The three young women continued gazing at Jett and wringing their hands in desire. Jett acquires a thoughtful look on his face.
'Hey, Jett. What's up? Are you thinking? By the gods, you aren't sick are you?' asked Joxer.
Jett rolled his eyes.
'Relax, little brother. I wasn't doing too much thinking, but just enough to come up with an idea to help me with my goals. I still want to marry Gabrielle, right?' began Jett.
'Right,' agreed Joxer.
'And we all know that she and her sister are pretty crazy, right?'
'Right.'
'Well, if I can just convince the healer to announce Lila as crazy, as in needs-to-be-sent-to-the-loony-barn crazy, then I can tell Gabrielle that if she marries me, I will use my influence to have her sister released.'
'Wow, Jett! You are awesome!'
'I know,' said Jett, as he smirks to himself.
Gabrielle's sobs gradually died away. She flicked her head up at the sound of knocking.
'Who is it?' asked Gabrielle, getting up to open the door.
'It's Cyrene, my dear,' came the reply.
'And Solan!' squeaked Cyrene's grandson.
Cyrene and Solan sat on a teacart being pushed by a monkey.
'I… Thank you… But…' began Gabrielle, as she walked backwards, almost warily, from the chicken and the mouse.
Gabrielle swore to herself that the mouse was smiling at her.
'Careful of my tail!' came a cry from behind her.
Gabrielle span around and faced a peacock.
'Oh my! I'm sorry,' apologised Gabrielle.
'That's alright, I should have said something earlier, I suppose. My name is Vidalis. Who might you be, my dear?' asked the peacock.
'Oh, my name is Gabrielle,' replied Gabrielle.
She turned to look at Cyrene, Solan and the monkey, and then whipped around to look at Vidalis too.
'Am I in the wrong room? Your master put me here. I'm sorry if I've taken someone else's room,' babbled Gabrielle.
Vidalis fanned his feathers proudly.
'Relax, young one. This is not my room. I am here to assist you in your clothing matters. That's what I'm here for,' said Vidalis.
'And we are here to offer you some tea,' piped in Cyrene.
'Would you like sugar and cream?' asked Solan.
Gabrielle smiled at him and nodded.
'Take care, Solan! Don't spill anything!' Cyrene warned her grandson.
'Yes, Grandma, I know,' he replied.
Solan finished adding the sugar and cream and patted the monkey's paw with his own. The monkey took the cup and handed it to Gabrielle.
'Thank you,' said Gabrielle.
'You're welcome. My name is Helena,' replied the monkey.
'It's a pleasure to meet you,' said Gabrielle.
'I told you, she was pretty, Grandma!' exclaimed Solan suddenly.
Gabrielle awarded him with another small smile. Cyrene shushed him.
'Sorry,' said Solan, with a twitch of his whiskers.
It was quiet for a while as Gabrielle sipped her tea.
'It was very brave of you, what you did,' began Cyrene.
'Yes, we all agree,' added Vidalis.
'To what end? I've lost my sister; she's my only family! And here, I will surely never see her again,' lamented Gabrielle.
'Cheer up, love. Things will turn out all right in the end. I'm sure of it,' said Cyrene.
'And you are ever so nice! I hope you like it here!' said Solan.
'Oh dear! We'd best get back to the kitchen! I need to help organise dinner! Solan!' exclaimed Cyrene.
'Bye, Gabrielle!' said Solan, waving as the teacart was pulled out of the room.
Gabrielle returned his goodbye half-heartedly.
'Now that they are gone, I can go about my job! Let me see you. Ah yes, I think this green dress would look wonderful on you! It will certainly bring out your eyes!' said Vidalis.
Gabrielle shook her head.
'Please, don't trouble yourself. I won't be attending dinner,' said Gabrielle.
'N-Not going to dinner?' gasped Vidalis, dropping the dress from his beak on to the floor in a crumpled heap.
There was a knock at the door and Minya peered in. She hopped in and then flew to land on the end of the bed.
'Dinner is served. Please follow me,' she said.
Vidalis only covered his face with a wing as Gabrielle told Minya her plans for the night. Minya squawked loudly and fell to the floor in a faint.
Xena paced in front of the fireplace. She could smell the luscious banquet on the table. Her whiskers twitched. She couldn't stand waiting and couldn't stand having her mother and Autolycus' nervous gazes on her. She let out a slow and low snarl, drawing it out by showing them her teeth. Cyrene was only mildly perturbed. Flightless bird or not, she was her mother after all. Autolycus, on the other hand, quivered in fear and sharply turned his attention elsewhere.
'Where IS she? It is time for dinner!' snarled Xena, still pacing on all fours.
'Please be patient Conqueror. She has lost both her sister and her freedom within a few candlemarks,' said Cyrene, perched on the mantle above the fireplace.
Autolycus tried to distract the pacing ruler.
'Conqueror, have you had time to consider this girl as the one who could break the spell?' he asked.
Xena whirled around to glare at him.
'You have apparently. Of course, she seemed very promising… However at this rate, I'm not so sure anymore,' growled Xena lowly. 'And besides… no one could possibly love a beast like me.'
Autolycus and Cyrene barely heard the Conqueror's last comment, much softer than her earlier words. Autolycus decided to change tack. He was usually an optimist after all, cynical sometimes sure, but an optimist none the less. Although he believed his previous occupation proved successful with confidence and skill rather than simple optimism.
'Won't it be wonderful? You fall in love with her, she falls in love with you, and we all sing and dance, and then the spell will be broken! We will turn back into humans! I become once again the King of Thieves!' exclaimed Autolycus.
Xena tilted her head and looked at him with a warning look.
'Heh. I mean, I become a human, but still a faithful servant of you my dear Conqueror,' gushed Autolycus, his face twitching despite his fake smile.
'Autolycus! Love isn't something you can force,' chided Cyrene.
'This is the last year! The rose has already started to shed its petals,' replied Autolycus.
'It's pointless. She is a pretty young thing, and I'm… Well? My heart is dark as the night, isn't that what the Fates said?' said Xena, using a paw to gesture at the length of her body.
Cyrene thought back to when Xena was merely her daughter, a young woman full of ideas and energy. Although she didn't think Xena looked hideous as a panther, she did however, look even more forever dangerous, especially with her cobalt eyes even more pronounced against black fur.
'You must help her see past the image the Fates have forced upon you,' said Cyrene.
Xena felt a tinge of regret that her mother had to endure a transformation because of her.
'I don't know how,' muttered Xena, her tail lashing from side to side.
'I suggest you start by being more presentable! Stop lashing your tail about and stop flashing your claws!' said Cyrene, letting out a huff and ruffles her feathers.
Xena complied. She quivered in a sitting position, desperate to be moving. She looked as if ants were running up and down her rump.
'When she enters, give her a dashing smile. Yes, that will work, show me your smile,' chimed in Autolycus.
Xena smiled, showing all her teeth. Her jaws were slightly apart and a brow was raised. Cyrene hopped backwards.
'You look as if you're going to eat us! Close your teeth!' exclaimed Cyrene.
Xena tried again, this time with a smile she used to use to seduce possible competitors into her army.
'Not that kind of smile either! What will she think?' asked Cyrene, bopping Autolycus on the head for getting distracted by Xena's seductive smirk.
'Impress her with your intelligence,' added Autolycus.
'Remember to be kind and gentle,' continued Cyrene.
Xena's neck was becoming strained from looking up and down, and back and forth between her mother and servant.
'Compliment her as much as possible.'
'Sincerely so.'
'But most importantly…'
He and Cyrene gave each other a quick look as they said simultaneously,
'You must control your temper!'
They all turned expectedly as they heard the door open.
'Here she comes!' exclaimed Autolycus, in a whisper.
Xena's ears perked up, but then lost her hopeful grin when Minya inches in.
'Good evening…' began Minya, her entire being clenched as tight as can be.
'Where's the girl?' growled Xena.
'I… Uh… That is to say… She said… Well, you see… She's not coming,' rambled Minya.
'WHAT?' roared Xena, fur standing up, with claws out and her tail lashed violently.
She rushed out the door and up the stairs. Cyrene leapt onto Autolycus' head as he rushed out after the Conqueror. Minya recovered from nearly being trampled on and flew off in the same direction.
'Conqueror! You majesty! Please. Calm down!' she cried out.
Xena reached Gabrielle's door and turned abruptly, kicking out a back paw against the door.
'I expected you at dinner a candlemark ago!' roared Xena.
'Thank you, but I'm not hungry,' replied Gabrielle.
'Come out right now, or I shall produce more firewood!' declared Xena, crouching, ready to leap.
'Conqueror, please. You need to win her affections, not destroy them,' said Autolycus.
'Please, try to be more calm,' added Minya.
Xena glared at them.
'How? She is being so stubborn!' growled Xena, directing the last word at the door with teeth flashing.
'Be gentle,' said Cyrene, still on top of Autolycus' head.
Autolycus winced at Cyrene's claws flexing into his skull.
'Will you come dine with me?' asked Xena, flatly, but lowering her voice.
'No, I won't,' replied Gabrielle.
Xena whirled about and clenches her teeth. She glared at the others again.
'Sweet and gentle,' murmurs Minya.
Xena rolled her shoulders and tilted her head to either side. She took in a deep breath.
'I would be greatly honoured if you'd join me for dinner,' she said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.
Minya hovered near Xena's ear.
'Try adding a "please",' she whispered.
Xena rolled her eyes.
'Please,' she added.
Everyone was silent. Xena twitched her ears.
'No, thank you,' replied Gabrielle, forcefully.
'You can't stay in your room forever!' roared Xena.
'Of course, I can!' exclaimed Gabrielle.
'Have it your way! You can starve!' roared Xena, and then turned to her cowering servants. 'Either she eats with me or she goes without.'
Xena swiped a paw against the door, leaving an indent. Gabrielle let out a little scream. Xena frowned and then leapt down the hall towards her own chambers.
Autolycus let his body slid down against the wall. Cyrene jumped off of his head, shaking her own sadly. She toddled off back downstairs to the kitchen. Minya could only keep quivering in a corner. She eventually recovered. She blinked. She gazed at the door and then huffed to herself.
'Well, Autolycus, you had better keep an eye on his door then. Let me know if anything happens,' said Minya.
Autolycus rolled his eyes, but nodded.
'Very well,' he replied.
'I'd better go and help Cyrene clean up downstairs,' said Minya, as she flew off.
Autolycus gazed at the closed door. He sighed, and then stood next to it.
Xena had just added more dents into her bedroom walls, new vases had been smashed and new curtains had become shreds of fabric.
'I can't believe I even bothered trying. I even tried asking nicely. I shouldn't have to, I'm the Conqueror, but I did anyway. And what did she say? She's not hungry… I am not an idiot, I could hear her stomach growling a field's length away! What does she expect me to do? Beg?' ranted Xena.
She went over to her bedside table and placed her paws upon it. She looked at Aphrodite's mirror that was propped up on a stand next to the rose that was suspended in mid air under a bell jar. Xena clenched her eyes shut for a moment, and then nudged the mirror with a paw.
'Show me the girl,' she commanded.
Vidalis wass trying to get Gabrielle's attention, going so far as to flap his wings in a most ungentleman-like manner. Gabrielle kept looking away, finally burying her face into a pillow.
'The Conqueror isn't so bad once you get to know her. She's just... used to things a certain way,' said Vidalis.
'Yes, she certainly is used to putting fear into people isn't she? Why would I want to have anything to do with her? She's horrible,' gasped Gabrielle, in between tears.
Xena's ears flattened against her skull, whiskers pointed towards the floor.
'I was so foolish to think that she might see me as anything but a… monster,' murmured Xena. 'There's no point in trying.'
She watched as another petal fell from the rose. She lifted herself off the bedside table and went to curl up on top of her bed.
'Hey, hey. Is this all you do anymore?' asked Ares, as he appeared, lying next to her.
'FUCK OFF ARES!' snarled Xena, exploding into a raging frenzy.
Ares was too surprised by Xena's reaction to get angry. He becomes covered in scratches all over before he disappeared again. Xena ran to her balcony and let out a mournful and furious roar.
Gabrielle felt her stomach rumble for the hundredth time since Xena had been roaring at her through the door. Yes, she had been counting. A hunger strike just wasn't the best form of protest for someone like her. Lila had always joked that woe would be the future of the man who got between Gabrielle and her next meal. Xena wasn't a man, nor was she human. At least, at this very moment she wasn't. From what Gabrielle had gathered, everyone in the castle used to be human. And then it hit her. All of the others had been calling Xena by another name. Conqueror. Xena the Conqueror. She wasn't a legend after all. She was real. Then it was all true. All the bards that had passed through Potidaea had gifted her with true stories. Xena the Conqueror, ruler of all the lands had not died mysteriously. She had, in fact, been enchanted. As had the rest of the castle's inhabitants it seemed. Gabrielle was lucky. She hadn't been old enough to remember when Xena had been around, demanding supplies and taxes from the people of Greece.
No one ever went near the castle because it was so deep in the woods where all the wild animals lived. Only hunters went in the woods, but even then, they did not venture too near the castle. Many feared it haunted. Others believed it dangerous and in ruins. Now she knew the truth. Despite herself, Gabrielle wished for parchment, a quill and some ink. How she yearned to record her discovery. Her stomach rumbled again. Gabrielle sighed.
Vidalis gave up on convincing her, leaving her to retire to his room next door. Gabrielle went to the door and placed her ear against it. It didn't seem like anyone was outside, so she pushed it open a little, slipping out as silently as she could. She heard amorous murmurs from behind some curtains, so she quickly made her way downstairs, where the lingering aromas were leading her.
'Don't say no, I can make you feel wonderful,' said Autolycus, to a raccoon.
'No, no. You can't trick me again!' replied the raccoon, giggling as Autolycus swept her into his arms.
'Come, Flora. I'm a changed chimp!' exclaimed Autolycus.
He noticed Gabrielle's hair just disappearing from sight through the banisters. He dropped Flora, who fell to the floor in a heap. She shrieked in annoyance, her bushy tail waving madly.
'She's out! I've got to find Minya!' murmured Autolycus, racing off to find Minya.
'Solan, come now. It's your bedtime,' said Cyrene, pushing her grandson towards a gravy boat filled with her own feathers.
'I'm not sleepy,' protested Solan, yawning despite himself.
Cyrene shook her head as his eyes fluttered to a close. He was as stubborn as herself, as stubborn as his mother. He slumped against her snugly. She gently lifted him by the scruff of his neck with her beak and deposited him gently into his bed. She drew a little blanket over him, and smiled as she watched him snuggle into the warmth of her moulted feathers.
'I still can't believe she was so rude to the Conqueror! She even said "please"! The Conqueror NEVER says "please"! Who does that girl think she is? An Amazon Queen?' exclaimed Minya, only to be shushed by Cyrene as she fluttered into the kitchen.
'Give it a rest, we're all tired from tonight.' said Cyrene. 'She simply is used to conversing with people with good manners; we are short of both at the present. The Conqueror needs to learn how to control her temper, otherwise we'll stay like this for…'
They both stared at Gabrielle pushing the kitchen door open, her nose twitching as she sniffed.
'Ah! Young Miss! How wonderful to see you outside of your room!' said Minya. 'I am Minya, head servant of the Conqueror.'
Minya fluttered over to offer a wing to Gabrielle, who extended her hand, which was then grasped by Autolycus who slid in between the two of them. Autolycus kissed her hand.
'It's an honour to meet your acquaintance, my lady,' said Autolycus.
Minya kicked him as she rose in the air.
'Please… let us know… if we can do anything… to make your stay… more pleasant,' said Minya, flying about to avoid Autolycus' left foot from anchoring her to the floor.
Gabrielle blushed.
'Well, I am a little hungry,' she admitted.
Her stomach growled loudly. Cyrene let out a small laugh.
'Okay, I'm really hungry,' amended Gabrielle.
'She's hungry!' exclaimed Cyrene. 'Okay, let's go. Time to feed the fire, get the cutlery and dishes.'
Gabrielle watched in amazement at the monkeys taking direction from the chicken. She knew which animals most of the servants were now, but it was still quite a sight to see. She had asked Vidalis about most of the inhabitants of the castle before the dinner plans had been announced. She had thought that perhaps it would take her mind off her situation. But of course, the arrival of Xena at her door brought it all back in one swift and heart-wrenching blow.
'Remember what the Conqueror said about this,' whispered Minya, shuffling over to Cyrene.
'I refuse to let her starve. The Conqueror can take it up with me later, I dare you to tell her,' said Cyrene, a challenging tone in her voice.
Minya sighed and threw her wings into the air.
'Fine! She can have a glass of water, some bread…' began Minya.
'Minya! How could you? She's our guest here! We can't treat her like a prisoner!' exclaimed Autolycus, taking Gabrielle's hand and leading her from the kitchen. 'Please, my lady, follow me into the dining room.'
'Keep it quiet! If the Conqueror were to find out… we'll lose our heads!' hissed Minya.
'I don't want anyone to get into trouble. It seems like there are no second chances around here,' said Gabrielle.
She began to pull away, intending to go back up stairs, but Autolycus waved it off.
'Relax Minya, you're going to lose your feathers,' said Autolycus. 'Please, my lady, it's no trouble at all. We're simply satisfying your obviously starving belly.'
A parrot dropped a napkin in to the lap of the seated Gabrielle. She blinked in surprise, thanking it with a smile. Cyrene emerged again on top of her tea cart, but this time with an array of drinks. Gabrielle was slightly disappointed that Solan isn't there, but she supposes that since it was so late that it would be horrible to keep the young mouse awake. Gabrielle wasn't sure what to choose, so Cyrene offered her warmed milk so that she would be able to sleep better later on. Soon after, the first few dishes arrived.
'Thank you for the food,' said Gabrielle.
The first was a vegetable broth. All of the servants' eyes widened as Gabrielle blows on the broth once, and then drank it all down in one go. She reached for the next entrée, which had two pieces of bite-sized chicken wrapped in jamon ham. Gabrielle chewed with delight, never before having tasted such flavours. Another minute passed and she was already starting on the third entrée. This one was a new dish Cyrene was trying out. Since Xena's transformation, she had become a lot more favourable to rarer meat. However, Cyrene refused to serve bloody steaks. She had compromised and lightly smoked a leg of beef, so that it was still rare, but not so that it was completely raw and messy to deal with. She decided that it would be sliced very thinly. She had hoped to present it to Xena, but alas tonight had gone terribly wrong. She was glad now for Gabrielle to try it for her.
'How was the thin beef?' asked Cyrene.
'It was absolutely delicious! It just seemed to melt in my mouth! I didn't even have to chew much!' exclaimed Gabrielle.
'I'll say!' murmured Minya, squawking when Autolycus nudged her sharply in the tail feathers.
'Well, here comes the main course,' said Autolycus, loud enough for Gabrielle to hear.
Gabrielle's eyes lit up at the large serving dish of lamb leg. All of the servants' jaws drop as Gabrielle pushed her plate to the side and pulled the entire leg towards herself and dug in heartily.
'My goodness, do you normally not get enough to eat, my child?' asked Cyrene.
Gabrielle stopped eating and looked at her, and then looked at the half eaten leg of lamb and blushed.
'Oh dear. I'm sorry. Did you want some?' asked Gabrielle.
'No, no. We've already eaten, but I was just wondering why you are so… hungry,' replied Cyrene.
'Oh, but I've never tasted such delicious food in all my life, and I do appreciate such good food!' said Gabrielle, deciding that she had abandoned the meat for long enough, after all, she didn't want it to get cold.
'I'll say,' murmured Minya, again.
Autolycus bonked her on the head and they began to fight. Cyrene rolled her eyes. Well, thought Cyrene, we did serve her the whole leg and she is the only one at the table… It's not wrong for her to understand that she was allowed to eat all of it.
Autolycus wailed as Minya scored another well-placed jab with her beak. Cyrene shook her head. They never did stop fighting, but it was always in good nature, so it wasn't a particularly big problem. However, she always made sure they remembered not to fight too much for too long in front of the Conqueror, lest she decided that she no longer needed their services.
Cyrene turned her attention back to Gabrielle and is less surprised than before that the young blonde was now licking her fingers after putting down the nibbled, licked, gnawed and sucked out dry bone.
'That was wonderful! I can't wait to taste what you make for breakfast!' exclaimed Gabrielle.
Cyrene wondered if Gabrielle snacked often.
'Would you like dessert?' asked Cyrene.
'Oh, I wouldn't want to impose,' replied Gabrielle.
'Nonsense!' said Cyrene. 'Bring out the dessert!'
The youngest monkey servant toddled into the dining room and placed a piece of baklava on a small plate in front of Gabrielle, who appeared almost disappointed at the result. Cyrene hastened forward to cheer up their guest.
'Would you like some cream with that?' she asked.
Gabrielle smiled at her with such gratitude.
'Oh, could I?' she gushed.
Cyrene nodded and hopped forward, pushing the bowl of cream on her cart closer to Gabrielle. With her piece of baklava sufficiently smothered in cream, double clotted, by the way, Gabrielle delicately cut off a piece and ate it. So peculiar was this change in pace that Minya and Autolycus halted their squabbling to watch. It took Gabrielle a half candlemark to finish off the finger length sweet.
'Mmm… You are such a wonderful cook, Cyrene!' said Gabrielle, eyes still closed from savouring the last bite. 'The nuts! The pastry! The cream!'
'Thank you, Gabrielle. It was a pleasure to feed one such as yourself, my dear,' said Cyrene, accepting her accolades.
Minya glancesd at the multitude of empty dishes on the table and wondered where all the food had gone. It certainly didn't seem to have settled down in Gabrielle's waistline. She landed on the shoulder of Gabrielle's chair.
'Well, now that you've eaten, I'm sure you're very tired now. We'd best get you back into your room so you can get your rest,' said Minya, using her wings to gently push Gabrielle from her seat.
'I won't be able to sleep now. I have so many questions about you all,' said Gabrielle.
'Questions? What could you possibly be curious about?' asked Minya, nonchalantly.
'Is everyone here enchanted?' asked Gabrielle.
'Enchanted? Where on earth did you get that idea?' retorted Minya, with a very fake snort of amusement.
Gabrielle gave Minya a very confused look. She wasn't sure if Minya was purposely treating her like an idiot.
'I'm sorry, but I can tell that you are all animals, yet I'm quite sure that perhaps you were once human?' said Gabrielle, quietly.
'Of course you realised!' exclaimed Autolycus, leaping up to roughly shove Minya off the chair. 'We just didn't want to overwhelm you.'
'Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it,' replied Gabrielle, smiling again.
Perhaps, she thought, their enchantment is still a sensitive issue. I had better leave it alone for now.
'May I have a look around?' asked Gabrielle, as the monkeys took her dishes to the kitchen and Cyrene bade her good night.
Autolycus smiled at her.
'I would be delighted to be your tour guide,' he said, flipping backwards in an attempt to amuse.
Gabrielle giggled at his comical landing. Minya rolled her eyes.
'I object. There are certain places that shouldn't be seen,' murmured Minya, jabbing Autolycus with a talon.
'We'll be fine,' replied Autolycus.
'Perhaps you could come with us?' suggested Gabrielle. 'I'm sure you must know all about the castle.'
Minya puffed her feathers and preened. Well, she did know the whole history of the Conqueror's life and of the castle. The Conqueror was her hero. Even if she was angry sometimes. Most of the time. A lot of the time.
'Certainly! Did you know that all these flags are trophies of the Conqueror's?' began Minya, gesturing to the flags adorning the corridor. 'They all belonged to different warlords and even foreign leaders. As you can see we have Rome's flag. The Conqueror never did like Caesar. And here we have the flag of Chin. The Conqueror sure knew how to put that Ming Tien in his place. The pompous fool, he called himself the Green Dragon… My lady?'
'Minya!' hissed Autolycus.
They both raced up a few steps to block Gabrielle's way. Autolycus had a big cheesy grin on his face with arms spread out wide. Minya was perched on his head, also spreading out her wings.
'May I see what is up there?' asked Gabrielle.
'What do you mean? Oh, up these stairs? Nothing of interest. The Northern Chambers are the dullest part of the castle,' said Minya.
'Oh… That leads to the Northern Chambers… I wonder why she is so secretive about them,' murmured Gabrielle, curiosity and intrigue replacing fear once again.
Autolycus groaned at Minya.
'Great, just great. Good one,' he said, sarcastically.
Minya stomped on his head and then flew past Gabrielle's arm, forcing the young woman to turn from the stairs.
'Please, my lady, allow me to show you these portraits of great battles…' suggested Minya.
Gabrielle turned around again, trying to dodge Minya's swooping.
'Surely we can do that later,' she said.
'The gardens then! Or the library?' tried Minya.
Gabrielle glanced at Minya with shy glee.
'You have a library?' she asked, a smile forming.
'An absolutely comprehensive one!' exclaimed Minya, glad for the sudden interest.
'Yes! We have books reaching up to the skies,' added Autolycus.
'I get tired just flying to the top and around the library,' said Minya.
'You would need to take the books with you to the Elysian Fields just to the finish them!' exclaimed Autolycus, getting into the spirit of distraction.
Satisfied that Gabrielle was following them, Minya and Autolycus started off down the fairly lit corridor towards the library. Gabrielle sighed to herself. Oh how she wanted to see the library, but her heart tugged her towards the stairs. Her curiosity was much too strong to be denied. She gave a quick glance to her guides and then climbed the stairs as quietly as possible.
Gabrielle soon began to feel worried as she gazed at the destruction of the corridor. A mirror frame was empty, its shattered contents splattered on the floor below. Paintings and tapestries had been shredded. Gabrielle entered a clawed up door and looked to her right. There was a large frame hanging on the wall. The picture was ruined, but there was one cobalt eye staring at her. She gazed at it, wondering about the person in the painting. It seemed familiar somehow. She shivered, as it seems as though that eye were looking into her soul.
A breeze caused her hair to flutter. She turned to see a bell jar on a small table. Gabrielle was captivated by the various shades of red glittering in the moonlight. She went towards the table. She lifted the bell jar and put it aside to find the rose. It was a deep crimson, almost blood coloured. There were no thorns. She extended a finger to touch a petal.
A roar sounded from behind her. She shrieked as she was thrown back onto the four-poster bed. She blinked rapidly, realising that Xena was putting the bell jar back over the rose.
'How did you get in here?' growled Xena.
Gabrielle slid off the bed, clutching at a bed post.
'I'm sorry…' began Gabrielle.
Xena stalked towards her.
'Didn't I forbid you to come here?' snarled Xena.
'Please, I wasn't going to move it. I was just curious,' continued Gabrielle, visibly shaking.
'Do you realise that you could have ruined EVERYTHING?' snarled Xena, even more angry now at the reminder of her curse.
'I'm sorry! Please, don't shout! You're scaring me!' exclaimed Gabrielle, unable to stop shaking from all the furniture being tossed around her.
Xena whipped around to face Gabrielle.
'GET OUT! LEAVE!' she roared.
Gabrielle grasped at the door handle and fled downstairs, tears streaming down her face. She saw a cloak hanging off a banister. She grabbed it and swirled it around to cover herself. She momentarily gave her attention to Minya and Autolycus who had come racing back down the corridor from the library.
'My lady! Where are you going?' asked Autolycus, arms waving about.
'I'm sorry. I can't keep my promise to stay. It's just not possible,' said Gabrielle.
'B-but! Wait! Please, stop!' Minya called after her.
Gabrielle had already reached the front doors and slammed them behind her. Autolycus and Minya looked at each other with forlorn expressions. Minya fluttered to the floor. Autolycus lifted her up gently and placed her on his shoulder. She nudged him gently with a grateful look. Autolycus sighed mightily.
Xena had finished raging. There were even more claw marks on the walls. Now, only the small table and her bed were the only pieces of furniture intact enough to be able to fulfil their functions. Xena collapsed on to the floor next to her bell jar covered rose. She was facing towards the balcony. She let out a distressed sobbing roar and covered her eyes with a paw. Her entire body was shaking.
Gabrielle raced over to the side of the castle where the stables were. She opened Tobias' stall and quickly prepared him. Her hands were still shaking but she managed to buckle everything in place. He nickered at her softly, nudging her gently. She took a moment to hug his face. She led him through the main gate and then mounted him. She urged him to race off away from the castle.
'Show me Gabrielle,' commanded Xena, unable to cast the young woman from her thoughts.
Her mirror flashed before it revealed Gabrielle on her donkey. Xena growled in anger as she recognised the wolves chasing them. She let out a furious roar and leapt out of her bedroom window, leaping from roof to roof. She landed right in front of the stable and inhaled deeply. She then raced off, following Tobias and Gabrielle's scent.
Loud growls and howls scared Tobias into slowing down to glance about, shaking his head from side to side.
'Well, well! Look who it is!' came a shrill and mean sounding voice.
Callisto stalked out from between some bushes, flanked by her lupine companions Draco, Dagnine and Darphus.
'Hey boys, it's dinner time!' shrieked Callisto, laughing and leaping at Tobias and Gabrielle with claws extended and her jaws wide open.
Gabrielle screamed and flicked the reins, prompting Tobias into motion again, just missing having his flank scored by Callisto's sharp ends.
The wolf pack howled in delight and followed after their leader, racing after their quarry. Gabrielle had no idea where she and Tobias were going, but she knew that their pursuers were not far off. She could hear Callisto's intermittent maniacal laughter.
Tobias made an effort to leap over a log, only to land on to a frozen pond. Their weight, combined with their momentum, forced them through the ice. Gabrielle barely stopped herself from screaming as the ice water hitting her bare legs, soaking her brown skirt. The pond was fairly small, so Tobias was able to make it to the other side. However, this meant that the wolves and hyena could too. Callisto managed to leap in front of Tobias and snapped at his legs. He stopped abruptly, sending Gabrielle over his and Callisto's heads. He stamped at Callisto. She cackled and leapt out of his reach. She whirled back around to wink at her wolf pack. They snarled at Tobias and stalked towards him.
Draco whined at his head being smacked by Gabrielle.
'Get away from him!' she cried.
She had found a branch. Darphus leapt at her and snatched it from her grasp. His mandibles crushing her weapon in half. Dagnine launched himself at her and knocked her over. Draco paced back and forth in front of Tobias, keeping him wary of moving closer to Gabrielle while Callisto and the others regrouped, all facing her and ready to pounce on to their meal. Callisto took the first leap, only to be knocked aside as a massive black furred body slammed into her side. Wheezing and gasping for air, Callisto staggered to her feet and realised who had joined them. Xena had placed herself between the turncoats from her army and Gabrielle. She made herself as large as possible.
'Xena! What a wonderful surprise! Now we can eat you and your little whore too!' laughed Callisto.
'I should have hunted you all down when I had the chance!' snarled Xena.
Draco took advantage of Xena's blazing attention on Callisto and snuck an attack to Xena's side. She sensed his approach, but too late to stop him from ripping a massive wound into her shoulder. She gutted him. He gurgled his surprise as his blood flowed out of him, seeping into the snow. Dagnine and Darphus attack at the same time, scoring Xena's sides. She batted Darphus to the side and managed to kick Dagnine up and out of the way. He let out a howl as he was speared against the icicles on a nearby tree. He thrashed about and the icicles break, dropping him to the ground. He struggled to get up, only to fall back down, causing the icicles to finish the job.
Callisto had been laughing this whole time. She spotted Gabrielle frantically trying to find a way past the battle. Gabrielle had thrown herself against a tree, the fighting too widespread for her to reach Tobias, who was now stuck because his reins had caught on to a branch. Callisto crawled towards the blonde. Xena glimpsed her dirty blonde hair moving and turned to stop her. This gave Darphus a chance to bite a forepaw. Xena roared and locked her jaws into his neck. Being larger than the wolf, her jaws were heavier and much stronger. He cursed himself for placing his being within her jaw reach. She shook him twice and threw his body on top of Callisto.
Gabrielle screamed at the blood splattering her pale blue top and parts of her face. Callisto scurried out from under Darphus' corpse, her claws scrabbling at snow and dirt, and lunged towards Xena, clawing her black muzzle. Xena and Callisto leapt away from each other, only to stalk the other around in a tight circle. Callisto had not gotten away lightly either, Xena had nipped off half of an ear as they had separated. Callisto's eyes looked especially bright against the blood running down her fur.
'What's the matter, Xena? You look tired. You should go lie down… and die!' snarled Callisto, unable to help but snicker.
Xena cricked her neck, eyes glaring back at her adversary. Callisto had never been the perfect soldier, always disregarding orders. Minor ones mostly, but eventually she had convinced a small portion of Xena's army to defect. They had fled the castle grounds during the night a few years ago. Xena had decided not to hunt them down because she was too ashamed to emerge from her castle, lest she ever meet any villagers. Evidently, not many had survived.
'You will die on this night,' growled Xena.
'No! It is you who will die! It is YOU who will answer for the deaths of my family!' screamed Callisto.
Gabrielle threw a rock at Callisto, giving Xena the moment she needed to lunge at Callisto, landing on top of her. Callisto squealed and tried to jump out from under Xena, but the panther's greater body mass overwhelmed her. Xena crushed Callisto with all her weight. She then latched her jaws on to Callisto's neck. With a mighty effort and roar, Xena removed the top part of Callisto's spine from her body, but not before Callisto, with her body twisting and turning as much as possible, used her rear paws to claw her belly, inflicting more damage.
With all of her enemies dead, Xena turned to look at Gabrielle. She let out a sigh of relief at the unharmed but fearful looking Gabrielle. Damn it to Tartarus, thought Xena as she slumped to the ground, now she definitely thinks I'm a monster. Her last image was of Gabrielle crawling towards Tobias. Well, at least she's alive. Ah… I'm going to die here anyway... It doesn't matter anymore. I don't care. I'm too tired. With that last thought, Xena closed her eyes with exhaustion and slumped on to her side.
Gabrielle managed to calm Tobias. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and placing her cheek against Tobias'. She peeked a look at Xena's body. She went to Xena and reached out a reluctant hand, expecting Xena to leap up at any moment. Eventually, her hand touched Xena's fur. A lot of it is soaked in blood and there was no movement from the Conqueror. Gabrielle went back over to Tobias and led him towards Xena. She got him to kneel and she used all her might to pull Xena's considerable mass onto his back.
Tobias was trembling, but remained calm because the predator was unconscious and his mistress was talking softly in his ear as they made their way back to the castle. He knew that he had to get them back to the castle. It was the last warm place they were in. He couldn't fail his mistress now. Gabrielle was just barely keeping upright, holding on to his shoulder. Tobias nickered and snuffled Gabrielle's hair, trying to get rid of the snow.
The warmth of a fire and of Cyrene's tea had eventually brought Xena back into consciousness. Autolycus, Minya and Cyrene watched as Gabrielle attempted to help clean Xena's wounds. Of course, as a panther, Xena had become accustomed to using her tongue for cleaning herself much more often. Minya and Cyrene would often find themselves preening themselves with their beaks, while Autolycus had caught himself eating any bugs he might have picked up whenever he went outside. Even Solan often found himself cleaning his whiskers, much to his grandmother's adoring amusement. He would pretend that he hadn't seen her smile, twitch his nose, and then leave the room with as much dignity as a little mouse could have.
'It'd be better if you didn't lick that,' began Gabrielle, staying her hand and trying to remain calm as Xena growled at her.
Xena eyed the wet cloth in Gabrielle's hand with great trepidation. Gabrielle had asked Minya where they kept the herbs and Gabrielle had returned with a bowl of hot water and herb mixture. It smelled familiar. Xena was sure that Gabrielle had chosen a stinging herb on purpose. She lifted her lip warningly, a large canine flashing with flames. Gabrielle moved her hand towards scratches on a limb, only to have it pulled away by the owner.
'Look, I want to thank you for saving my life,' said Gabrielle, looking Xena right in the eye.
'So, thank me and get that cloth away from me. Don't think I don't know what's in that water,' replied Xena.
Gabrielle huffed. Typical. Here is a vicious Conqueror who has flipped death off in many battles, but was afraid of a sting in her wounds.
'If you know what's in it, then you'll know it's the best herbs to get you healing up,' said Gabrielle, appealing to Xena's logical mind.
This time, Xena huffed.
'How do you know so much about healing herbs? You don't look old enough to have been accepted as a village healer,' grumbled Xena.
'I'm not a healer, no. But I've read all the medicinal texts in Salmoneus' store. I don't a bit of non-fiction once in a while,' replied Gabrielle.
The servants aren't sure how to help. Whenever Xena had gotten injured before, they had always been instructed to leave medicinal herbs out for her, but never to attend to her. She would always look after herself. But since they had all been turned, Xena hadn't been much for fighting, let alone leaving the castle, so she never had any wounds to be taken care of.
At least Gabrielle wasn't getting her head chewed off, but they couldn't say the same for themselves. Solan, however, had noticed that Gabrielle needed some help. He bravely twitched his whiskers and then approached the Conqueror and Gabrielle from the table on which the bowl was placed.
'Gabrielle, would you please tell us what happened? I would like to hear how the Conqueror saved you. Is that alright, your Majesty?' asked Solan.
Cyrene stopped herself from breathing in too quickly. She gazed on with slight fear. Xena regarded the little mouse. There was a softened look in her eye. She sighed and nodded. Solan squeaked happily, turning to Gabrielle with eager ears. Cyrene indulged in a small smile.
'Very well. Tobias and I were being chased by a hyena and three wolves. They could talk too. They were saying awful things, like how they were going to eat us,' began Gabrielle.
Xena glared at the fire.
'Callisto. She was the hyena. And her followers were Draco, Dagnine and Darphu…ARGH!' Xena finished by roaring and flicked her head about to glare at Gabrielle who was now tentatively dabbing at various wounds, instead of covering them completely with the cloth as she had to Xena's foreleg while Xena had been explaining who the attackers were.
'You were distracted, I thought it was a good time to clean these wounds,' said Gabrielle.
Cyrene removed her wing from her breast. It had flown there when Xena had let out the roar of pained surprise. She didn't think it was possible for anyone to have snuck a move on the Conqueror, but she admitted that when Xena got angry, she tended to forget about other things. Besides, there were no threats in the castle. Xena had purged the castle of all potential threats long ago. Only the most loyal and most frightened subjects remained alive to watch their Conqueror grow even more restless and unbearable each passing year.
And Gabrielle. She had clearly demonstrated during her time here that she was no threat. Or at least, to anyone's wellbeing she wasn't. In other matters, she perhaps was. Right now, Cyrene watched with bated breath as the young woman tended to her errant daughter. Xena was no longer making any sound. Her muzzle twitched at times, but other than that, there was no reaction. Xena's pride was obviously pushing to the forefront.
'And so, with a mighty roar, Xena ended Callisto's treachery, sending her to Tartarus with the rest of her horrid crew,' finished Gabrielle, as she wrapped a bandage around Xena's flank.
Autolycus and Minya unconsciously clutched at each other in fear as Xena's flank twitched violently. Gabrielle tied the bandage off snugly and checked over the rest of Xena's scratches and her injured foreleg before nodding to herself. Xena stopped her minute trembling. Autolycus and Minya let out a breath of relief simultaneously, only to glare at each other and then pull away in embarrassment.
'I notice you didn't mention how monstrous I was, practically cannibalising them,' rumbled Xena.
'You were protecting yourself… and me. Thank you. I owe you my life,' said Gabrielle, trying to catch Xena's eye.
Xena cracked her neck, avoiding Gabrielle's gaze. It was much too adoring and her eyes were much too shiny for Xena to feel comfortable to look back at them.
'What kind of ruler would I be if I let my subjects run loose to maim and kill innocents?' grumbled Xena half-heartedly.
Gabrielle sighed to herself, but smiled mightily as Xena finally acknowledged her gaze and bestowed a small smile in return.
'You're welcome,' murmured Xena, only loud enough for Gabrielle to hear.
Gabrielle lightly kissed Xena's furry cheek. There was a massive and collective gasp by the rest of the animals. Gabrielle glanced about. Xena was shocked into stillness and wide eyes.
'What?' asked Gabrielle.
Solan giggled at all the adults' reactions.