Chapter 1: Prophecy
The temple of The Fates was dark, gloomy even. Tapestries hung from every wall and curtains covered the windows, letting in little sunlight. Zeus, Hera, and Athena had gathered here following Athena's discovery that Xena was with child. Immediately upon discovering this, she knew she had to bring this potential concern to Zeus and Hera.
"I agree. This could be something significant," Zeus mused.
"So, we'll keep an eye on the situation. There's no harm in monitoring," Hera stated.
"We need to be more proactive!" Athena declared.
Zeus contemplated what options they had for this situation and if there was a need to do something so soon. Finally, he decided, "We will consult with The Fates and make a decision when we have more information from them."
This is what had brought them to The Fates temple now, seeking guidance. The Fates were already present when the group of Olympians appeared in the temple. They were busy at work at their loom, spinning the threads of all our lives into the woven tapestry of life. They barely looked up at the three who had just arrived. Zeus spoke first.
"We are here to ask for a consult on an important matter."
"The child of Xena," this from The Mother who stood between her younger and older companions.
"Yes," Zeus agreed. "I worry of the potential of this child… of the power. Perhaps it is nothing, but your guidance is needed."
"Our guidance comes at a price…" The Crone looked to their empty altar.
Zeus waved his hand above his head, in an arching motion. A gold platter filled with ambrosia, the food of the gods, appeared on the altar. "There's your offering. Now what say you?"
"Your offering will suffice." The Maiden nodded her appreciation for all three.
"The child you ask of is well on the way. There is much destiny around this child," The Mother closed her eyes as she spoke, "A prophecy forms before our eyes."
The Crone started, "A child born of the God of War and the Warrior Princess will have great power…"
The Mother picked up, "The power to evoke fear in all men and gods…"
The Maiden delivered the final foreboding message, "Her birth will bring about the end of Olympus as you know it."
Athena gasped, "This is worse than I though. What do we do?" Athena directed her question to Zeus. He stood stoic with Hera, taking in the words of The Fates.
At last, he spoke. "We have to be sure this doesn't happen. At this point, only the few of us know of the situation at hand. We will keep it that way."
Athena doubted this, "Surely, we will need all the help that we can get to prevent this prophecy."
"Of course," Zeus agreed, "But the details of the prophecy do not need to be public knowledge. It is uncertain how all the other Olympians will feel if it is known that it is a child of a fellow god that must be dealt with."
Hera spoke up to voice her doubts, "We don't know what exactly there is to stop yet. A baby has a potential to be powerful... someday. That power is not a treat at this point. We should still wait to see how things play out once the baby is born and starts to grow."
"We can't risk it!" Zeus shot down Hera's reasoning and continued his planning.
Athena voiced her own concerns, "Ares will surely share this news soon. He has been after Xena for years. This will be quiet a conquest for him. We won't be able to keep the news secret for long."
"Then we keep it from him as well."
Athena's eyes grew bright with understanding. "A forgetting spell! Of course. We will have to take care of Xena and Gabrielle as well."
Zeus agreed, "Naturally. Cover all of our bases. There should be no memories anywhere of the relationship between Ares and the Warrior Princess. I can take care of that with little effort. After that we will plan how to remove the threat."
"This is all a bit extreme," Hera spoke up again. "Prophecies do not always have clear meanings. We should take more time to study this and contemplate all the implications."
"Why waste time when we know what has to happen eventually. Now will be the easiest point of attack. We can eliminate the child before it becomes a threat and we can eliminate Xena to prevent a recurrence." Athena could not understand how the solution was not as obvious to the Queen of the Gods.
"It is decided." Zeus ended a debate that was about to start. "I will take care of the spell and we will call a meeting to create a plan of attack."
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Xena and Gabrielle's current travels had them on the road to Amphipolis, to Cyrene's tavern. The plan was to meet up with several of their friends there, so that Xena could share her big news. Most of those invited to join them, weren't aware of what the news would be, only that Xena had requested that they join her and Gabrielle for dinner and possibly to stay if they wanted to. The group of those ignorant to Xena's pregnancy excluded Gabrielle, Joxer, and Amarice – all of whom were present when Xena discovered her pregnancy.
What a shock it was to all present – Xena included – to learn about this pregnancy. She could hardly remember the last time she was with a man. It certainly wasn't since she and Gabrielle were crucified and raised from the dead by Eli and his God. Even if Xena had recently been with a man before then – which she hadn't – could a pregnancy really survive literal death and resurrection. These were the thoughts that often clouded Xena's mind and kept her from focusing on other things. What had come as a shock to her friends, was a mystery to her as well. Though, despite the questions and uncertainties that this pregnancy had brought up, Xena still felt love and connection to this child, as any mother would.
"So how do you think Cyrene will take the news? I mean a grandchild – no matter what the circumstances are – is surely a blessing… and a surprise." Gabrielle's question brought Xena out of her own thoughts on the topic and back to their present surroundings.
"I'm not going down this road with you again, Gabrielle, so stop fishing for information. I simply don't have it. Believe me, this pregnancy was just as much as shock to me as it was to you, and everyone else for that matter." Xena had become tired of Gabrielle's endless questions about her pregnancy. She could certainly understand Gabrielle's concerns and confusion, but there were only so many ways to tell the bard that she didn't know anything about it either.
"I know. You keep saying that. It's just –." Gabrielle was cut off before she could finish her statement.
"Enough. I know this baby had to come from somewhere, Gabrielle, but right now I just don't know from where. I wish I had more answers for you, as well as for me. When I get those answers, I will let you know. But for right now, I don't want to talk about it anymore. I will get enough of that from my mother. I don't need it from you too."
From there, the pair traveled on in silence. Xena's thoughts travelled to thoughts of her mother and how she was possibly going to explain this one. Gabrielle focused on her frustration about the topic and tried for the hundredth time to recall any instance in which she had been away from Xena for a substantial time since they did come back from Heaven and Hell. She hadn't had luck yet, but she must have been missing something.
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Another hour passed in silence before Xena pulled Argo off the road. She told Gabrielle that she needed to get down and stretch her legs for a while. Gabrielle was grateful for the break as well. Her backside had been aching for several miles but she knew that Xena was eager to get to Amphipolis and didn't want to hold her back any longer than necessary.
During their quiet ride, Gabrielle had continued to ponder the mystery of Xena's child. It is what was on her mind most of the time now. She truly believed her friend when she said she didn't know who the father was. If nothing else, Gabrielle reasoned that Xena knew she wouldn't be able to hide it forever if she did know. Besides, Xena wasn't really one for drama when it wasn't needed. So no, Gabrielle wasn't concerned that her friend was deceiving her. She was concerned about the big picture – how had Xena become pregnant and why. She'd be lying if she said that her thoughts didn't lead her back to her memories of Hope at times. She could admit there were some similarities. She had also found herself suddenly and seemingly impossibly with child. That had ended horribly, with the death of Xena's son and nearly the end of their friendship. Gabrielle didn't want to believe something so sinister was going on with this pregnancy, but these thoughts crossed her mind at times. She decided that for now, the baby couldn't be a threat to anyone, regardless of where it had come from. She also decided that Xena was her best friend, and so Gabrielle would support her in what she wanted, until she had reason not to. These suspicions did make her more eager to solve this mystery though.
"How are you feeling?" Gabrielle asked.
"Fine," Xena said. "I just need to stretch my legs and get a drink."
"That's fine. We can get back on the road as soon as you're ready."
"It won't be long," Xena responded. She turned to get her waterskin off Argo's saddle, but was surprised when a gold shower rained down around her and Aphrodite appeared sitting on the mare. She unhooked Xena's waterskin and tossed it between her hands before giving it back to the Warrior Princess. "Here you go. You definitely need to stay hydrated in your state." She hopped off the horse and took in Xena's full form. The pregnancy was barely noticeable at this point. "You are glowing, by the way."
"Thanks," Xena said, eying the goddess suspiciously. She looked down at the waterskin and then reasoned that Aphrodite has never had any ill will towards her and it was likely fine. She took a swig before asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was looking for Gabby," Aphrodite pointed to the bard.
"What's going on?" Gabrielle asked her. She had started to become fond of Aphrodite over the years and even welcomed her company at times.
"I was hoping you could come help me with something. I had a new temple built in Crete and well, the interior designer was just horrible. Seriously, the worst thing I've even seen. You would think that Demeter did it herself, so out dated. Anyway, it needs a make-over and I thought maybe you'd want to join me. We could do some bonding and I could always use an extra eye from someone with good taste. Oh, you could come too Xena, if you want to." Aphrodite added the last part as almost an afterthought.
"Pass," Xena said as she hooked her waterskin back on Argo's saddle.
"Bummer," Aphrodite responded. "What about you Gabby? Help a girl out?"
"Uh, it sounds fun. But not today, Aphrodite. Sorry. Xena and I have plans to meet up with her mom." Gabrielle was caught off guard by the request and didn't know what to make of it.
"Double bummer!" Aphrodite sighed. "Well, I guess I'm on my own with this one. No worries. Have fun with your mortal thing. Catch you next time."
Aphrodite disappeared in the same golden mist she had appeared in. Xena mounted Argo and waited for Gabrielle to get her own drink and mount her horse again. "What was that about?"
"I don't know," Gabrielle admitted. "It was weird right?"
"Very," Xena agreed. "I mean, since when are you such an expert interior designer?"
"Haha, very funny," Gabrielle responded. Still, she had to admit it was a strange request from the Goddess of Love. It almost seemed as though she had to make up some excuse to come see them, even briefly. But why was the question.
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Upon arriving in the town of Amphipolis, both women dismounted and walked their horses through the streets, until they arrived at Cyrene's tavern. They lead both horses around back to the stables before going to find Cyrene in the kitchen.
"Oh! Xena! You're here!" Cyrene's excitement to see her daughter was evident when Xena and Gabrielle joined her in the kitchen. "How I've missed you!" Cyrene wrapped Xena into a tight hug. Gabrielle waited for their hug to end, before stepping forward to offer her own. "And you too, Gabrielle. It is so good to see you," Cyrene said as she embraced the bard.
"It certainly has been too long," Xena agreed.
"I'm sorry. I should have made Xena come visit sooner," Gabrielle added.
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Cyrene waved away Gabrielle's apology. "You're both here now and that's all that matters. Though I am curious as to why you've asked all your friends to join us here this weekend, Xena," Cyrene eyed her daughter suspiciously.
"I need to talk to you Mother, there is something that I need to tell you about."
"Oh… this does sound important," Cyrene said.
"I'll give you both some space and head out to the market for a little. There were some wares that caught my eye on the way through town," Gabrielle made her way to the door to give the mother and daughter pair some time alone.
"Very important, "Cyrene mused again as she narrowed her glance even more to Xena.
Gabrielle left through the back door commenting that she would be back before dinner. Xena took her mother's hand and lead her to a table in a secluded corner of the dining room. Xena sat across from her mother and noted the concern and confusion she could read in the older woman's eyes. Xena silently reflected on all the times she had caused this worried looked on her mother's face and felt a pang of guilt for it. She just hoped, that the news she had to share this time would be received well, despite the circumstances. She didn't want it to lead to similar pain and heartbreak she had caused her mother in the past.
During their travels to Amphipolis, Xena had spent hours attempting to form the right explanation, the best narrative to tell her mother of her expectant child. Now that she was sitting here though, seeing how the suspense was affecting her mother, she decided it was best to just be blunt and quick in delivering her news. "Mother, I'm pregnant."