AS THE BEAUTIFUL DAWN SHOWERS ITS LIGHT UP ON YOU

Akemi felt the stone floor as her knees impacted with it, she looked up painfully as she put a hand on her face trying to clear the light headed feeling. Blood was leaking down her back from the deep stab wound. She felt Ehecatl's hand as it grabbed her pulling her to her feet he slowly lead her over to the wooden chair close by which had a small table next to it. All she could feel was pain she felt her pendent fall from her fingers as they started to shake. She slammed her fist against the table it hurt so much her upper back was on fire, it felt like one of the mighty Japanese's dragons was trying to burn it. She cried out as she leaned forward that annoying little blonde bitch she just couldn't die quietly!

Ehecatl turned quickly looking around him as he put the heavy gold collar on to the elaborate wooden table. They were in what looked a stone room, which was filled with scrolls. As well as other items like food bowls and goblets, there was a small room of to the side with fur skins and pillows. Beautifully laid out clothes and blankets could be seen near the bed. There was a sense of order, everything was laid out neatly and accurately, every scroll on the shelf had a holder and a label. Bowls were neatly placed along with cups it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. The two rooms made up a small living place whose stone walls were filled with beautiful carved patterns as rich as any temples.

A strange robe was hanging up close by on a stand. It had lavish long sleeves as well as beautiful designs embroidered in places while other area's had flowing white areas. He looked closer realizing what it was, it was a Japanese Kimono he hadn't seen one in over fifty years. The last time he'd seen one was when two Japanese prisoners had been captured. A young woman and a Samurai warrior had met their end by having both their hearts ripped out. He had always remembered the woman's blood stained kimono though. It had been so beautiful and he'd had to watch as it had been torn apart by men who saw it as no more than material. He ran his skeleton fingers across the soft material before turning to look at her. "Where did you get this? It's beautiful."

Akemi coughed painfully. "Its mine you idiot!" Ehecatl moved away he grabbed a clean cloth from the pile as he stepped over to her and pressing it against her wound. He quickly pulled a small gold bottle away from his belt. "I have some fire heart it'll heal your wounds." He moved quickly towards the small fireplace which had a pot of cold water on it. He grabbed the fire lit torch from the stands close by using it to quickly light the wood. He turned back putting his hand on the cloth pressing down harder as he put the torch back in place. "What is this place?" Akemi narrowed her gaze. "It's where I live." Ehecatl looked around him. "You have a very beautiful and very ordered home." Akemi sneered slightly as she pulling the scared scroll free from her belt putting it on the table. "Yeah well I spend a lot of time alone…."

Ehecatl grabbed a wooden bowl pouring in some fire heat he closed the cap putting the gold bottle back on his belt. "You said that the kimono was yours. Where did you buy from?" Akemi turned eyeing him. "It's mine it was made for me in Japan I didn't buy it or steal it." Ehecatl turned pulling the bubbling pot of the fire he slowly filling the wooden bowl with it. He watched as the water bubbled and simmered turning red, he didn't think as he put the pot back over the fire. He tossed the bloody cloth in to it before grabbing another one which he dipped in to the bloody water bowl. He turned putting it on her upper back ignoring her cry of pain, it would heal the deep wound but her back would still hurt for a long while. "So did you live in Japan for a time?"

Akemi ignored the pain. "No! I was born there." Ehecatl listened to the hissing sound as the water ran clear. "I don't understand, you look like you're from Mexica." Akemi felt her teeth grind together, as she tried to take the pain. "I look like you because C'thulon punished me! He made my skin colour darker and my voice deeper! I don't look anything like you I'm Japanese!" She slammed her hand down on the gold collar. "This time pendent is my salvation…I'm going to make everything as it should be." Ehecatl looked up slightly. "I think you're beautiful now despite that your skin is darker, and your voice is deeper." Akemi eyed him in disgust she said nothing as she turned her gaze to fires flames.

8

Lila looked up slightly seeing the sun which was now high in the sky. She turned her gaze watching as the servants once again laid out the food. None of which she had any interest in she'd slept not much better than any other night. The only good thing was that tonight she couldn't remember her nightmares as clearly as before. Amoxtli stood up slightly moving over to stand by her side. "You really should eat something." Lila breathed in deeply as she ran her fingers over the fruit. "I'm not hungry." Amoxtli eyed her as she ripped the last bandage free from her wrist turning it slowly. "You know it's bad not to eat…if I could eat I'd be enjoying all this."

Lila eyed her as she turned away. "Well then you enjoy staring at it, because I'm not eating it." Amoxtli sighed aloud watching as she walked away. "Not eating will just make things worse for you." Lila breathed in sharply. "How could things possibly get any worse for me? I mean I'm a prisoner here in your gods keeps and I know no that my sister is an impostor from another time who kills people!" Tlaloc grunted aloud. "You know she has a point." Amoxtli looked up sharply eyeing him. "You're not helping." Tlaloc folded him arms. "Okay well if she doesn't eat it I could always break her hand." Lila turned eyeing him she didn't think as she grabbed a mango. "Happy now?" Tlaloc shook his head slightly ignoring Amoxtli annoyed look. "I was joking you know."

Lila sat down taking a bite out of the sweet fruit ignoring him. "I couldn't tell your humour is as dead as you are." Amoxtli smiled inwardly as she met the big mans tall gaze. "She has a point I mean if you smiled it might come across as a joke better." Tlaloc looked up sharply. "Why do I have to smile? I mean a joke is still a joke despite how I appear." Amoxtli raised her hand slightly. "Its part of humour, you smile so the person knows it's a joke. It's for their benefit not yours." Tlaloc turned slightly. "Oh." Amoxtli felt the smile as it crept over her lips. "Didn't they teach you how to have fun at all when you trained as a warrior?" Tlaloc shrugged slightly. "No…they taught me how to kill."

Amoxtli breathed in deeply this was going to take time, how do you teach someone to smile whose never smiled in their life? She eyed him for a long moment he wasn't an unattractive man by any means he was stocky and well muscled. She eyed his hanging cloth with its decorations he probably wasn't lacking in other areas ether. May be this was one of the reason he'd never really gotten the attention of women. It wasn't anything to do with his appearance more his manner which could be very blunt along with the fact that he never smiled. She took a step forward. "You know it is possible that you never succeeded with women because you don't smile."

Tlaloc narrowed his gaze. "I did succeed with women!" Amoxtli raised her hands. "You misunderstand I know you got your fair share but you never had anything long term because you don't laugh or smile." Tlaloc folded his arms. "Does laughing and smiling make a difference?" Amoxtli looked up slightly. "It always did to me…I used to think that people were happy…." Tlaloc breathed in deeply. "Even if I laugh or smile I don't feel the emotion though, so how would this help me?" Amoxtli looked up slightly. "It's not about the feeling, it's about the action. Even when you don't feel it, it's nice to do it anyway, so others can see it." She turned slightly. "When I see all those people in the city smiling it makes me remember how it felt and I want to smile just to remember what it was like."

Tlaloc looked up slightly. "I see." He paused seeing a hint of pain flash across her white eyes. Even if she couldn't feel hurt she was very in tune with how to convey her emotions. He raised his hand slightly. "Then I'd like to smile for you if it would help you remember." He stood up slightly trying his best to form a smile, which felt odd he wasn't used to the feeling. Amoxtli turned to meet his gaze watching as he tried his best to smile it was a tense sort of smile but it was a smile none the less. "That's it you're getting there." She gave him a wide smile watching as he tried to imitate it showing off a flash of clean white teeth and a gold tooth on the upper right of his mouth near the back.

She blinked eyeing it. "You have a gold tooth? The gods only give out those when you've done something noble and brave, what did you do to get it?" Tlaloc put his hand on the tooth. "Oh that it was nothing I just escorted a noble man to another lesser gods temple for the sun god. We were ambushed by five of Tezcatlipoca's warriors." He breathed in deeply. "I had my back tooth knocked out during the battle but, I managed to kill the ambush group. The tooth was a gift for my services, and for doing what I did well, not that it means much here." Amoxtli looked up slightly. "I think it means a lot, you did something truly noble and it shows how noble you were and how much the sun god liked you. No one can ever take that away from you even this place, it'll always be yours and yours alone."

Tlaloc blinked before looking down she was right it had never occurred him that this tooth meant something even here, which it did. It was a symbol of his nobility and an echo of the man he had been when he was alive before all this. He turned slightly he could see Lila watching the conversation with quite interest. He turned back to Amoxtli. "Didn't you save a family from being killed by Tezcatlipoca's warriors three years back?" Amoxtli looked up slightly feeling a sneer form on her lips. "Let me guess you heard about that on the training grounds, since the other warriors always use it to ridiculer me. Because it's custom here to let the poor people die because there considered expendable and worthless."

She narrowed her gaze. "We are meant to protect only the nobles who are bastards and would never save us, if the roles were reversed." Tlaloc moved a step closer. "Yes I heard about it on the training ground, they still talk about it. They also talk about how you were given fifty lashes with a whip specially made for un-dead warriors, because of your disobedience." Amoxtli felt her teeth grind together. "Yes that's true and those bastards on the training ground can go to hell. I don't care what they think. Tezcatlipoca's warriors were going to murder that family. I had a choice help some snobbish noble, or help them. My choice was them and I don't regret a thing, I'd do it all over again."

Tlaloc raised his hands moving even closer. "Why did you help them through? You knew you'd be punished so why did you do it?" Amoxtli breathed in sharply. "Because it was the right thing to do, call me a sentimental fool but when I was living I once found a house near mine which had been pillaged by his warriors, they didn't leave anyone alive…not the father, mother or even the child." She looked down slightly. "I remember thinking in that moment after I'd thrown up that the world isn't as it should be. Those who commit such vile acts are allowed to get away with what they do most of time." She raised her hand. "I made sure that those warriors who tried to the same thing to that family, got a fitting punishment and I made sure that they really suffered before they died!"

Tlaloc moved even closer seeing the pain again in her eyes he eased up his hand pulling one of his gold pendent free which had the sunstone symbol on it free from his neck. "My god would have given you a gift for doing what is considered the most honourable of all his laws. To always protect those who are weaker than yourself and to put their lives above your own." He took hold of her hand pulling it outwards ignoring her surprise as he put the pendent in it. "I was a head warrior to him and I'm starting to believe in those laws all over again." He slowly closed her fingers over the pendent. "You should have this for doing something so noble." He patted her hand. "Because I think what you did was right and you shouldn't have been punished for it." He gave her another smile before stepping back. "You should wear it as a symbol of what you did, because then no one matter what any one says you'll always know that what you did was right." Amoxtli looked up sharply meeting his gaze as she held the pendent tighter she wished she could cry right now because she wanted to so badly she smiled slowly meeting his gaze. "Thank you…so much."

8

Ares watched as the heavenly hummingbird warriors backed away as his chains came loose hitting the keeps floor. He could hear the drums echoing outside as the city bellow began its celebrations. He eyed Gabrielle she had said nothing since she'd been led back to keep he snarled rubbed his wrist. The sun god had said that he would be back soon and that they were both to be taken to the main keep. There was no way the sun god could do what he said he'd done it was impossible! The very bindings of a soul mate thread couldn't be tampering with. Every piece of the person's personality was a thread in itself with a highly elaborate interlaced pattern. These patterns if pulled apart would just rebind so you couldn't change the personality permanently.

The same was so if you tore the two souls apart they'd just rebind of their own will. He didn't care how powerful the pompous Aztec fool though he was. His father's soul mate creations were one of a kind and no other god had ever been able to alter them. He eyed her she was pulling an elaborate act, he sneered slightly she had killed herself knowing that the sun god would bring her back, which meant that she knew where Xena was. He felt the inner pain he needed to know if what the bastard had said was true! He didn't want believe it and something told him that Gabrielle wouldn't just let Xena die, like him she was very possessive. He watched as the glowing green soul light drifted out of her eyes like smoke. "For a really irritating blonde that was clever, you knew he'd resurrect you didn't you?"

He watched as she turned to look at him her face full of confusion. "You know that because he likes you that, you could play the obedient lapdog and he'd just fall for it." Gabrielle turned slowly meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry…I don't know you." She eyed him closely nothing about the dark haired man's features was in any way familiar. She turned back to room in fact nothing was familiar not even the floor or the golden throne. Should it be familiar? She just couldn't remember no matter how she tried. This must be her home though, how could it not be? The tall nice man with amber coloured eye had said that they were lovers, so this had to be their home. She had been dead so that must have been the reason she'd forgotten this?

Why else wouldn't she remember that he was her lover and that she lived here? She felt her gaze drift her own name wasn't that familiar ether, Gabrielle was simple enough to say. Yet she couldn't ever remember anyone calling her by that name until today. She couldn't even remember her parents calling her by it. Who were her parents and what did they look like? Were they alive or were they dead? There were so many questions and so many she had no answer to, her mind was as blank as an empty scroll. She must have lost all her memories at some point in time it was the only thing that could explain all this. Right now though it best that she listen to the man who was her lover he would know her story and tell her how she had lost her memories, he seemed to know her better than she knew herself.

Ares took a step forward. "Look you can drop the act now! We both know this is a game you're playing." Gabrielle took a step back eyeing the dark haired man something about him was unpleasant but she couldn't really understand what. "I said I don't know who you are now please, leave me alone." Ares took a step closer narrowing his gaze. "You know who I am." Gabrielle eyed him for a long moment. "No I don't know who you are I've never seen your face before today." Ares narrowed his gaze trying to see the lie in her face and any hints in her posture. He didn't think as he grabbed her arm he breathed in sharply as a feeling went through him which felt like pure innocence but at the same time a deep emptiness.

Gabrielle didn't think as she pulled her arm out of his grip forcefully, in an instant the four warriors behind her rose their weapons towards the dark hair man who took a step back the shock as clear as day in his eyes. Ares pulled back this wasn't a ruse or a trick she really didn't know he was, or even who she was for that matter, he'd felt it in her soul. How had the sun god done it? Had he overlaid another personality? He shook his head, that wasn't possible the threads would just tear the overlaid pattern apart because it didn't belong. He'd also have felt the overlay when he touched her yet he hadn't felt one. He stepped sideways her body was a copy, but not her soul that was impossible to replicate. So if she wasn't a soul copy or an overlaid personality then what was she? He'd never seen this done before and he didn't have a clue how the pompous Aztec god had done it. Stripping one soul mate from another was hard enough, but to change a soul's ingrained personality was something else entirely, yet he'd done it somehow.

"I am sure you are wondering how I did it are you not lesser god?"

Ares snarled slightly watching as the sun god slowly walked in to the room coming to a stop in front of him. Ares narrowed his gaze. "Yes…I am." Huitzilopochtli smiled as took hold of Gabrielle's arm gently moving her away from him. "Such a shame it is that you will never know because I would not waste my time telling you." He turned moving his hand through the long blonde hair. "Come with me Gabrielle, we have a great deal to talk about." Gabrielle blinked as she met his amber gaze. "As you wish, My Lord." Huitzilopochtli turned slightly picking up the scroll on his thrones side table. "I want him watched he is not to come near my bedchamber."

The first hummingbird warrior nodded slightly. "As you command great sun god." Ares sneered watching as they both went inside the bedchamber and the curtain was pulled across. He hated the bastard right now more than anything in the world. Xena couldn't have dead he was could feel it in his gut the Warrior Princess was to strong for most people to kill, it was one of the reasons he loved her. He wouldn't be able to get the information about Xena from Gabrielle ether that was clear now. He stepped away from the warriors who eyed him she had somehow been turned in to an obedient little lapdog. He looked up slightly maybe he could use that to his advantage she was showing some very innocent behaviour. She also didn't know who he was anymore maybe he could get her to talk the sun god into letting him go. Or better yet use her to find out if Xena was dead. If Xena was still alive though she wouldn't remain standing for long she'd come here demanding to have Gabrielle back. She wouldn't allow the irritating blonde to fall in to someone else hands that was certain.

8

Xena let her gaze drift slowly over the skull in her hands, she took a deep breath as she looked up seeing Xochipilli enter the room. Itzli stood up slowly watching as the love god eyed the broken table. "I'm sorry it was my fault." He looked down at the Warrior Princess who had nothing for a while she'd just been looking at the skull in her hands. Xochipilli breathed in looking at him and then at the Warrior Princess who hadn't looked up. He knew already who had done this damage. He could feel the pain in her soul even now. He had left the room to give her time to calm down and be alone until she could get her anger under control. He didn't doubt that she needed time to steady her emotions as well, he watched as she looked down again at the skull in her hands saying nothing.

He breathed in deeply he knew whose skull it was which pained him even more, he hadn't expected to find her with it now. He had hoped that he could have been the one to explain it all to her. He walked forward so he was standing next to her, he moved over putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I should have been the one to tell you about Gabrielle's skull." Xena looked up slightly. "I would have tried to kill you to." Xochipilli slowly met her gaze. "I'm a god…I can't die." Xena shuffled in her sitting position on the floor as she kept a tight hold on the skull. "It wouldn't have stopped me trying." Xochipilli breathed in sharply as he eased his hand away he could hear the cold tone in her voice, and he could tell by her eyes that she wasn't bluffing.

He looked down slightly. "You didn't deserve any of this Xena." Xena snarled aloud as she looked up sharply. "Tell me, did you try to help her or did you turn your back on her and send her to, her death!?" Xochipilli shook his head. "I offered her my help, but she never took it, she left before I could put forward my ideas." Xena sneered feeling her anger burn only to feel it stop in an instant, she turned looking in to the skull's empty sockets for a long moment before looking up again. Gabrielle would never ask a god of love to commit an act of war. She must have seen Xochipilli as no different to Aphrodite and to ask him to do the same thing went against everything she believed in.

She breathed in deeply. "I know why she didn't take your help she would never ask any god of love to commit an act of war to help her." She lowered her gaze. "She must see you as she sees Aphrodite." Xochipilli breathed in deeply. "I wanted to help her Xena I really liked her, she has a beautiful soul. I admired her bravery so much that I gave her that gold tooth that you see before you." Xena smiled but it was a sad smile. "Everyone likes her she has that effect on people. I didn't always treat her right, and yet I was the only one she ever showed her love to." She breathed in painfully trying to control her emotions again as she stared at the skull in her hand which she was holding carefully. "I never even got to say goodbye…." Xochipilli kneeled down slightly so he was next to her. "In Mexica there are no goodbyes, not really everyone here has a chance to live again." He looked at the skull in her hands again. "As bad as this feels for you, you have to trust us, we can help you to fix all this." He put a hand on her shoulder again. "Has Itzli told you of the ethereal myth?"

End of part 53

Silvermoonlight.