Back with another chapter!
Just want to say thank you all again for the fantastic reviews, they always make me smile and always help me carry on writing too. :)
---
Caesar had left Xena in the care of Gabrielle, after sending for herbs to help with the pain Xena was feeling he left his chambers to consult once more with his Oracles. The brother and sister rose as if they had been expecting him as Caesar stormed into their dwelling.
"She remembers nothing!" Caesar said tartly before Prisca could extend her normal cloying greeting.
"My Emperor?" Prisca asked with a smirk.
"You know very well my meaning" Caesar said, pointing a finger accusingly at her.
"Is it not what you wanted?" Her smirk widened to a grin, again exposing the monstrous quality hidden within her perfect features.
Caesar ignored her words, "Why can't she remember?"
Prisca smirked once more as if finding this silly man before her quite amusing. "The Sandmirks," she said with a shrug, "they wipe the mind clean, or drive you insane - depending on how far their 'song' burrows in." She paused, seeing Caesar's jaw twitch, knowing his mind. "She has not lost her mind My Emperor, Priscus understood your orders, but her mind is clear of all memories."
Caesar tried to control the anger that bubbled within him. "I did not order him to do that!" he said through gritted teeth.
"No," Prisca said with a low chuckle, her expression very similar to the one he often directed at his slave Gabrielle when she seemed simple, "but you wanted her heart." She paused and slowly walked towards him. "Her loyalty." She let her fingers curl about his shoulders as she prowled around him. "Did you think she would openly come to you as she was?" She laughed mockingly, "Her hatred for you was brighter than any star, you could never have tamed her, we did as you wished…" She paused again, glancing towards her brother with a cruel smile. "What your heart desired."
Caesar let his jaw relax, seeing the truth to her words. "Then she will suffer no ill effects?" he questioned.
"No, she will not be able to remember without… help… a certain concoction that I will not give to her if you do not wish."
Caesar heard the danger ringing, her voice tinged with threats. He narrowed his eyes. "What is it you wish for me to do?"
Prisca gave another glance back towards her brother, "A pure maiden every three months."
Caesar's mouth turned in disgust. "For what ends?" he asked, not wanting to know the answer.
"Sacrifice, potions…" she smiled slyly, "fun… it does get dreadfully dull down here."
Caesar nodded, "As you wish, as long as you keep your bargain."
Prisca nodded, "Of course My Emperor." She gave him a small bow and Caesar left them, glad to be rid of their presence.
---
When Caesar returned to his chambers, he was pleased to see the herbs had already begun to take effect. Xena was now sat up in bed and Gabrielle had sent for some simple broth and was perched upon the bed talking merrily with Xena as if they were old friends. Caesar narrowed his eyes at the two women as they exchanged smiles.
"Gabrielle!" He demanded her presence with her name and within moments she was before him, her expression startled. He wrapped his fingers tightly around her arm and pulled her into the shadows.
"How does she seem?" he asked.
Gabrielle nodded, "She says the pain is less and she has eaten."
"Gabrielle," his dark gaze pulled her eyes to his, "you must not talk to her of who she is, understand?"
Gabrielle nodded but her eyes questioned him.
"Don't you understand?" Caesar asked, his charm now in full use, "This is a chance for her to have a real life, no more death, no more killing." He paused; searching for what he knew would work upon her. "It is my chance to set right what I did in the past, I can offer her the world, I can make her happy."
Gabrielle seemed reluctant at his words, she glanced down but he jerked her face back to meet his. "Can you not give me this peace?" he asked, his eyes falsely pleading.
She was taken aback by his words, his expression her niave mind could not see through his fabrication. Her eyes widened in wonder; she glanced back to the room Xena was in.
"Can I stay with her?" she asked, throwing all caution to the wind.
Caesar gave a small half smile. "Yes, you can be our... our personal attendant." He let his hand caress her cheek. "And I release you from your other… duties; you will no longer be chained, but free to come and go as you please, as long as you do not leave the palace."
Gabrielle opened her mouth to speak but was stunned into silence by his words.
"Do you vow?" he asked, knowing that if she gave him her word he need not worry, she would keep it.
"I do" she said finally. The thought of freedom swam within her mind, it was not true freedom but it was something close.
Caesar smiled and patted her cheek tenderly. "I knew I could trust you." He bent down to her ankle and pulled a small key from around his neck, unlocked the chain and let it fall with a dull clatter to the floor.
Gabrielle felt her spirit soar with that sound and she smiled warmly at him.
"Now, go to the guards outside, tell them to take you to unlock the room in the lion garden, this will be yours, call any servants you wish to make it comfortable."
Gabrielle gave an awkward curtsy and quickly scurried from his sight her mind too full of what had just occured to dwell on anything else. Caesar bolted the door behind her. He thought in some ways he would miss his simple servant girl, but what need did he have of her other than her silence and her agreement as he wove his new plan around Xena. Soon she would be trapped within it, she would be his and she would submit. He turned and walked back into the small bedroom, Xena had obviously been expecting Gabrielle to appear as her face fell in disappointment as he entered.
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
She gave a small nod, "Better."
Her voice was no longer strained but now had its richness back, he relished the sound. He removed the empty bowl that still lay upon her bed and gently sat down. He studied her face for a long moment, still finding it hard to believe she was this near to him, that he could reach out and touch her if he so wished, the thought was tempting but he held back, to be so forward would not suit his plan... not yet.
"You remember nothing of what happened?" he asked smoothly.
She shook her head, her hand once more reaching for her temple. "It seems so distant, I get flashes, but they mean nothing, I can make no sense of them."
Caesar nodded sadly. "You live in the Roman Empire, I do not know much about you other than your name." He paused and sighed for dramatic effect. "I am Emperor of Rome."
Xena's eyes widened. "Emperor?" she repeated, she glanced about her as if only now taking in the grander.
He nodded, inwardly smirking but his expression stayed stoic. "We had engaged a warlord in battle, we chased him to your village but we arrived too late, he had laid waste to everything, he was about to kill you but…" He paused once more, "We arrived in time to prevent at least one death."
Xena stared at him, "You saved me?" she whispered.
Caesar gave her a sad nod. "Your family, the rest of your village perished in fire, I'm sorry." He reached out and touched her hand in an act of sympathy, she flinched away, but her eyes stayed connected to his.
"My family," Xena once again reached for her temple, "I don't remember them."
"You managed to tell me your name before you passed out; I could not leave you there after all that had happened… I felt responsible for you."
"Thank you" she mumbled, her eyes shone with the truth of her words. "I don't even know your name" she cocked her head.
Caesar smiled warmly at her, "My name is Caesar, Julius Caesar."
Xena nodded, "Julius Caesar" she repeated.
Caesar felt a shiver descend his spine as his true name passed her lips. "You're free to stay here as long as you wish, until your strength returns."
Xena frowned at him, "That's very kind of you but…" She hesitated, her eyes flicking to her restraints. "Why have you bound me?" She studied his face, suspicion hiding just behind her gaze. Caesar could easily see his Xena staring out at him and again his skin tingled at the prospect of her closeness.
"My advisers were uneasy about me taking in a guest I knew nothing about." He paused, his intense dark eyes fixing upon her face, the curve of her jaw, the soft, supple skin of her neck. "There are those that wish me harm, those that have set in motion intricate plans to have me assassinated" he carried on in his melodic voice.
Xena's eyes widened slightly as she listened, "They think I wish you harm?"
Caesar gave a small smile. "I think," he said, once again connecting with her eyes, "they are foolish old men that ponder upon trivial matters too much."
Xena gave a mellow laugh and Caesar's smile widened, he let out a low chuckle, his thoughts were fixedly upon that dulcet sound, her laughter.
"Once they see I am still alive tomorrow I will persuade them that your chains can be undone, I hope it is not too much of a discomfort until then."
Xena nodded in understanding, "I can wait until then." She glanced around, "I do not think I am well enough to walk anyway."
Caesar rose, the effort to leave her side near unbearable. "I will leave you to rest, but should you need anything, just call for me, I am only through that doorway," he smiled his most charming smile, "and I am a light sleeper."
He rose and gave her a small bow before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The Xena he so craved was still within her, he could coax it out, he felt sure he could bring her back to the mesmerising, powerful woman she had once been… The only difference would be that this time he would not make the same mistake, this time she would be his warrior… his Empress.
---
Gabrielle was once again summoned the next day. She hurried to Caesar's chambers; Xena had been upon her mind the whole evening before, was she really doing the right thing by hiding the truth? Her thoughts had tormented her. She had tried to listen to the wisdom in Caesar's words but she could not ease her distrust of him, she wanted to put it down to her hatred of him, but it was not so… he was a liar, she knew it, she had seen it with her own eyes many times, he could never be trusted. But still, she could not decide why he wanted to give so much to his enemy, what gain did it have for him?
She entered the chambers and her eyes fell upon Caesar eating his morning meal. She gave him a small curtsey.
"You sent for me?"
He nodded and wiped his fruit covered fingers upon a cloth. "Attend to Xena today; I want her to be up and out of bed by no later than tomorrow evening." He gave her a warning look. "And here," he tossed two keys toward her which Gabrielle managed to catch clumsily, "take off her restraints."
She looked at the keys within her palm and then back to him as he began to speak.
"I must go to the senate today and tomorrow I will also be occupied, but tomorrow evening I expect to have my evening meal with Xena… understand?"
Gabrielle nodded, "I understand." She turned and her gaze was caught by a large, new red and golden tapestry that covered a part of the wall. She narrowed her eyes as she walked past it, remembering vaguely that a relief painting of some sort had once adorned that place, but as most things over time, Caesar had probably bored of it.
She left her master and went quickly to the smaller chamber; she entered and closed the door behind her.
Xena was sat up in bed, eating fruit from a golden bowl. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Gabrielle and she smiled warmly.
"Good morning," Gabrielle said cheerily, "how are you feeling?"
"Like I wish people would stop asking me that same question" Xena said with a teasing smirk.
Gabrielle laughed, "Alright, I'm sorry," she paused, "but you do look much better."
Xena nodded and carried on eating, stubbornly ignoring the subject.
"I have the keys to unlock your restraints."
Xena swallowed the section of sweet peach she had been chewing and held out her hands expectantly. Gabrielle quickly unlocked them and then her ankle chain.
"I'm glad they are off," she paused rubbing her wrists, "they gave me a strange sense of unease."
"Perhaps," Gabrielle said, sitting upon the bed, "it's one of your memories."
Xena frowned, "But why would I have had restraints? I was just a village girl."
Gabrielle's lips parted in surprise, so Caesar had already begun to weave his lies. She struggled to find words as Xena's eyes were upon her, how she hated lying to this woman.
Her eyes lowered to the bowl of fruit. "Are you finished?" she asked, wanting to dwell upon anything else but the subject of Xena's past.
Xena nodded and handed her the bowl, Gabrielle took it and got up from the bed to place it on a small table, turning her back as she did so, she knew the next words would be easier if she could not see Xena's face.
"Caesar wishes you to have a meal with him tomorrow evening." She felt like a vile betrayer and closed her eyes tightly.
"Caesar?" Xena questioned, "Oh, Julius?" She continued as if trying the name out upon her tongue.
Gabrielle flinched at the sound of both his names upon her lips, "Yes."
Xena did not reply and Gabrielle finally felt as if she could turn to look at her. Xena was studying her hands as if her palms held a long lost secret. "I wonder" she mumbled.
Gabrielle frowned, "What?"
Xena seemed to come back to herself, her gaze finding Gabrielle's face, "If I was just a village girl."
Gabrielle sighed inwardly, "I'm sure you were more than just that Xena."