Gabrielle looked away from Xena then, back up into the sky, and her temporary silence made the warrior woman a little anxious.
"It's strange," the blonde said. "I've gone into battle with you so many times, I've seen so much with you… You'd think I'd build up an immunity or something. But I still get scared, like now." Gabrielle looked at Xena again. "I'm scared, Xena. I don't want to lose you." At this, the warrior princess' heart melted and she smiled warmly. She reached a hand out to Gabrielle's and squeezed it.
"You're not going to lose me," she said. "Look… You may not know it but we have a major advantage over that army. The likelihood of Greece falling now is very small. We almost can't lose."
"But how can you know for sure? Because of Ares? Xena, if he found a good reason for it he'd abandon our army and switch sides in a heartbeat. You know how temperamental he can be-"
"I agree, Ares can be temperamental." Xena paused, thinking carefully about her words. She needed to be cautious about what she said, for Gabrielle's sake. The bard watched her companion, waiting and confused. "But I… I've got a feeling that he won't abandon us, even with whatever good reason he may be able to come up with." Gabrielle's eyes fell from her friend to the ground, and she tried to keep her faith strong. She had to have faith in Xena, she had to, otherwise she knew that everything would be lost. But where was Xena's confidence coming from? "Gabrielle, do you trust me?" Xena asked. Gabrielle's eyes flickered up, meeting icy blue ones.
"Of course," she said. And it was the truth. "Always."
"Good. I'm glad to hear that because I need you to trust me now. I need you to trust this plan, my judgment, and I need you to trust that everything will work out. I need you to keep the faith, at least for me if for no one else. Can you do that?" Gabrielle hesitated for a moment, wavering on her answer. It wasn't that she distrusted Xena… It was more of just an all-round uneasiness. Still, she answered truthfully.
"Yes, I can." Xena smiled, exhaling. She blinked slowly.
"Thank you," she said, and she took a gently hold of Gabrielle's hand. Then, the warrior woman permitted her mind to flood with memory.
Lots of time had gone by since Xena and Gabrielle had left Cyro, Xena spreading the word wherever they went that an army needed to be raised and trained quickly in order to defend Greece. She had gone to the general of Greece's armed forces on their travels and spoken with him directly. It took a long debate and an even longer argument with fierce screaming, but eventually the warrior princess had done her job at persuading the general. Recruits tried out by Xena from wherever she saw fit were to be allowed into the army without any further question, and once there everyone would be trained by the princess herself, Gabrielle as an assisting advisor and trainer.
When passing through a village one hot sunny day, Xena and Gabrielle were approached by a few young men. They wanted to be enlisted, badly, though they wouldn't admit their desperation.
"And what makes you think you've got what it takes to join my army? Cause I'm not letting any angry fool who knows half their way around a sword in." The shorter of the three young men, three brothers Xena deduced, stepped forward. He seemed to be the eldest, despite his height.
"Allow us to demonstrate our abilities, Warrior Princess. We'd be happy to quell your doubts." Xena barely smiled.
"Alright," she said, and she drew her sword, whipping it around a few times in attractive patterns. She told Gabrielle to take Argo back a few paces, then returned her focus to the brothers. "Come and get me!" Her eyes lit up as the three young men charged her, and almost instantly she struck one of them down, the blonde, with a side kick. He bounced back with an admirable agility, however, and went after Xena again. "Your first mistake-" she started, blocking sword blows from the light brown-haired brother, "- was not seeing that kick coming before is happened." The woman twisted her body, hitting the man she had originally kicked down with the flat edge of her sword (she had no intention of slicing and dicing if she could at all help it. These were just try-outs, initiation into the army. Once they were in though, there would be no holding back. The soldiers would have to thicken their skin in preparation.) before leaping back and up into the air, slamming her heels into the shoulders of the third brother with jet-black hair. He fell to his knees but in his momentum lashed out with his sword, slicing a pretty little line into the back of Xena's calf as she landed. Surprised, the blue-eyed warrior fell to the ground without much grace, but she got up quickly, turning and sticking the tip of her sword to the black-haired man's throat. She smiled at him as he looked up her blade, and the blonde brother lunged at Xena. She ducked, dodging him completely, and straightened back up without her smile ever abandoning her. Pulling her sword away, the brunette reached a hand out to help the black-haired man to his feet. "Alright," she said, turning to Gabrielle. "What do you think, Gabrielle? Keep 'em or leave 'em?" Both the warrior princess and the three brothers stared at the bard standing a few good paces away, waiting for her response.
"I think they did alright," she said finally. "They weren't amazing but I see good potential there. You could train them to be good warriors if they're willing to learn." With that last statement, Xena turned to the three young men, an eyebrow cocked.
"So? Are you willing to learn?"
"Y-yes, Warrior Princess. We will try to master everything you teach us."
"Well good, cause I'll be your co-commander in combat and after personally training the army, with Gabrielle at my side," Xena gestured to her companion, who smiled at her informal introduction, "I don't want to have to deal with any self-righteous soldiers."
"Of course-"
"You can start, too, but calling me Xena. I don't want to be addressed as the Warrior Princess by my soldiers. Clear?"
"Yes-"
"Oh, and did you pay attention to what I said about her?" Xena was referring to Gabrielle again. "She will be assisting me in the training process and will be with me whenever she can during battle. To you, she is as much your commander as I am. You will do as she says. Is that clear?" The men nodded. "Good. Now I want you to go back to your homes and pack your things; you will go to Athens and find headquarters. I will be there in less than a week's time, and hopefully we'll have massed enough soldiers to rival the army coming here." Xena turned her back on the soldiers-to-be, walking towards Gabrielle, before another thought crossed her mind. She turned her upper body. "If there are any others that want to join, send them to me." The warrior reached into Gabrielle's goatskin pack, pulling out three tokens. She tossed them to the men. "They will need one of those to get into headquarters, and so will you. No one gets in without one- it signifies that either I or Gabrielle have personally tried out each soldier. Don't lose it."