Chapter 19

Xena read through the scroll Mischa had given her. As she read she realized that only bits and pieces of it were Gabrielle's words. She treasured it nonetheless.

The scroll was riddled with oxymorons. Eli's god was wrathful and vengeful, yet his message was one of peace and love. It claimed that all love came from their god, all evil from the absence of their god, yet they categorized and split love into different types, cherishing some and condemning others. Hating love for an idol she could understand, seeing as this god was very jealous in his love. As for her love of Gabrielle, Eli himself had said Xena's soul match was made in heaven, implying that he had used his own two hands to mold their relationship, yet this was a love that the scroll condemned. Cleary there had been a miscommunication somewhere, or, more likely, the author had injected his own bigoted beliefs among the words of their lord. This only made her blood boil.

There were leads as to what kind of a god she was up against, and it didn't look good. He is loving yet commanding, and these attributes were really starting to rub her the wrong way. Had Eli simply forgotten about Gabrielle and Xena's burning desire to see for herself that she was ok?

"No." a soft voice spoke from her heart and into her brain. It was foreign, intrusive, it was not her voice and it did not belong there. Xena tensed up. "She will come to you, Xena, just do as I command and everything would work out for the better." Xena recognized Eli's voice.

"Mind your own business." She hissed. She just might have to cut off that big nose of his. "Yeah, I read about that in that scroll, but I'm not completely convinced that we see eye-to-eye about what's good for me." Eli smiled at her. She was a step ahead of him.

"Eli, what am I facing here?"

"One of poison, one of sugar. Keep your guard up, Xena. Don't let your love blind you."

"Are you serious? Eli, you've got to give me more than just riddles!"

"Trust me Xena. I will guide you through it if you let me."

"Get outa here!" Xena was feeling an enormous frustration from being left in the dark. She was finally able to sympathize with Gabrielle. But Gabrielle had much more patience than she. Xena smothered this voice in her heart with all the concentration she could muster. Eli's presence died then vanished. Xena let out a huff of frustration. Getting up, she began to pack away all her belongings, even though it was still early in the night. She couldn't sleep with so much pent up anger inside of her. How could Eli expect her to be content with being a foot soldier in some gods forsaken war without knowing for sure, without being certain of Gabrielle's good health. She would give it a year, she decided, and if Gabrielle hadn't "found her," she'd fake her death, desert, and go straight to see Aphrodite. She considered if she should start sending the fallen god her prayers to try to get Aphrodite to come find her, instead of the other way around. Somehow she thought that Eli would not find this as being true to their agreement. Xena put a hand to her forehead and then flung it away while shaking her head in a pure rush of anger. Eli had better have a damned good reason for sending her on this mission.

She finally arrived at the boot camp a couple days walk later. There, she registered as Zhu Junjie, hoping that her features had taken on a more masculine form. Perhaps she should consider growing facial hair. She wouldn't mind that, but she would draw the line at her waist. She refused to actually become a man. It simply wasn't her cup of tea. In fact, the idea repulsed her the same way imagining being with Ares again nearly makes her want to throw up. Male jewels themselves were all right, and damn useful, but she would never wish to have one herself.

The encampment itself look well-organized, and look outs were always posted. These were a people who truly knew the way of war. Right away Xena was put into a training group to learn their native Kung Fu. She tried not to be too good at it, but her natural talents shone through, and she quickly mastered the art. Only one month later she was deployed to another camp that was closer to the enemy.

She gained respect wherever she was. She had grown a thin mustache and strapped down her chest to make it flat like a man's. She was even allowed the privacy of her own bush and bath. She was short and prickly with everyone, so they dared not come anywhere near where she was if they could help it. Admittedly, she had been forced to bash a few heads who weren't smart enough to catch on as fast, but she made sure her message was received. She had no friends, nor did she have any interest in making friends.

Until one day.

She was practicing her forms in the new encampment when she saw him. He was a high-ranking Aravt, or one of the ten under the Emperor, based on the armor he wore. This wasn't what caught her eye, however. It happened like this; he locked eyes with her from across the clearing and something cold leaped inside of her, and she was suddenly filled with something familiar, the essence of a person or place she could almost recognize, though if it was good or bad she could not tell. It was over in a moment, he broke the connection and continued walking, shoulders back and chin up, like a warrior.

What on earth was that about? Xena watched his back as he flung open the cloth door and disappeared into a tent. What had she felt? She it troubled her that she couldn't decide if it was good or bad. After all, Gabrielle had made her stomach flip around inside of her at times the same way the adrenaline would surge when she was within an inch of death in a fight. Perhaps He was just a very powerful person, a threat to watch vigilantly. Whoever he was, Xena had to find out.