A COLD PAINFUL TRUTH WHICH BRINGS A TIDE OF PAIN

Xena coughed painfully as she felt the grip tighten she could hardly breath and every breathe that left her throat hurt and she couldn't get free from it unless Gabrielle let her go. It was clear to her that Gabrielle wanted her to suffer, but at the same time she knew she deserved to suffer for all the pain that she'd caused this woman in these past few weeks. She looked up meeting up the enraged green gaze as she spoke as best she could "I…didn't kill…your lover." Gabrielle snarled eyeing her. "You lie!" Xena struggled painfully despite the iron grip. "I swear to you on my honour…that I didn't kill him…the body was brought to me, by someone else." Gabrielle eyed her in disgust. "Your honour means nothing, you have no honour!"

She felt a cold sneer form. "You mocked my pain from the very beginning it was all just a big joke to you. You even allowed that slimy little bitch Iona to mock Seraphin's death!" Xena tried to breathe despite that it was getting harder to do so. "I'm sorry." Gabrielle eyed her for a long moment. "Your not sorry for anything, your no Empress your just another fifty Conqueror!" She leaned closer. "You know what the real pathetic thing is? I used to admire you so much, despite your hunting law. I wanted so much to be like you and be as noble as you were. You always did the right things for your people and your cities prosper through your great leadership. Yet the truth is that you're not that person, that's just your façade the one you show to your public. In person you're just a cruel bitch who won't give anyone a chance who is different from you!"

She raised her other clawed hand. "You're just the same as everyone else you judge based on appearance, in all the time I've been here you've never spoken to me as a person, you've just treated me like an animal." Xena breathed in painfully. "Your right…I did Gabrielle…I did everything wrong to you…I came here because…I want to make it right." Gabrielle sneered as she looked at her. "You don't get to use my name, your not my friend, to you it's Horn Hind!" Xena stopped still feeling the pain twist in her stomach gods now she knew how it felt for someone to say that to her. It was the same tone she used on Gabrielle thrown back right in her face, she spoke again trying to ignore the pain. "I know who you really are you're the…leader of your race…the werewolf king."

Gabrielle eyed her. "You figured that out all by yourself, I'm flattered, I guess my growing horns must have given it away." Xena eyed the horns which were getting bigger now. "Yes…I know who you really are…you're the Golden Horn." She breathed in moving her hand down pulling the scroll free of her belt she raised it up painfully so Gabrielle could see it. "Please believe me…I didn't kill your lover…I can prove it to you." Gabrielle eyed the document she grabbed it violently from her hand, she didn't think as she let go of her forcefully. Xena felt the pain as her back smashed in to the wall she came down hard slamming shoulder first in to the marble floor. She coughed painfully feeling the air return to her lungs as she leaned against the wall trying to take the pain, gods her body was hurting so much now.

She looked up watching as Gabrielle eased up the scroll reading it slowly she breathed in painfully as she spoke. "Your lover…was brought in by a traveller by the name of Bastiaan six years ago. The record states that there were no stab wounds but the neck was broken and it had puncture wounds by what we believed to be teeth. Phantasos can confirm this in his records he was the one who had the body mounted." Gabrielle eyed the scroll's date clearly the Empress was telling the truth it was also labelled with the royal seal which was on her ring finger. She eyed the line, broken neck and puncture wounds again. Humans couldn't break a werewolves neck and they didn't bother trying they just stabbed them through the throat or they hung them up by their heels and then skinned them alive.

She narrowed her gaze only another werewolf could shatter another werewolf's neck like that and leave deep punctuate wounds. She looked up feeling the rage take over once more, she knew the name of Bastiaan every well. The man was a slimy dishonourable bastard who loved power she refused to believe that a human of the same name would bring her dead lover here. She eyed the scroll clearly her lover had been murdered then brought here by Bastiaan if not murdered by him personally she felt her teeth grind together as she reread the scroll. Xena stood up slowly ignoring the pain as she walked towards her sword picking it up slowly. "I didn't kill your partner, I swear to you, but I'm sorry that you lost him, he was clearly someone you loved very deeply."

Gabrielle let go off the scroll watching as it fell to the floor she turned eyeing the other woman who now had her sword in her hand once more. She lowered her gaze. "Are you going to kill me now?" Xena eyed the weapon in her hand. "No." Gabrielle felt the tears as they started to run down her face. "I really wish you would." She felt the marble floor as she hit it on her knees. "I deserve to die, I'm no leader to my people they deserve someone better than me and once I die a new Horn Hind will take my place." she grabbed the woman's sword tip pulling it up to her throat keeping it there. "Just push it in quickly, my death will be instant, this was always how it was meant to end."

Xena tensed in shock watching as the clawed hand moved away leaving the sword tip in place. "You really believe that?" Gabrielle breathed in painfully feeling the tears as they ran down her snout. "All things must come to an end it's the will of my goddess Ouroboros, only when they end can they begin again." Xena felt her sword hand shake, gods this was so awful she'd never heard anyone say anything like this to her before now. She took in a painful breath this woman truly wanted to die she saw it as the only way to be free from her suffering. "Is that why you want to die so you can be reborn again?" Gabrielle looked at her clawed hands. "Yes, because then I can do everything right in my next life, I might grow up happy and see the world I always wanted to and make choices that are my own."

Xena breathed in deeply. "I don't want to kill you." Gabrielle looked at the floor. "Would you change your mind if I told you that I was sent to kill you two years ago?" She ignored the others woman's surprise as she smiled sadly. "It was meant to be the Imperial Councils master plan to kill you, they believed if they got rid of you the hunting of our race would end." She looked at her clawed hands. "I never agreed with their view point I believed it would only make things worse if you had died in that way. Do you know that I had my sword pointed at your chest? I was so close to you, I could have killed you." Xena eyed her for a long moment before speaking. "Why didn't you kill me? Anyone who's even gotten that close to me would have made the killing blow."

Gabrielle looked up slightly. "Because you have the same eyes as my lover, every time I looked at you I saw him, even now when I look at you I see him." She looked at the sword tip which was still in its place. "I'll never be able to kill you even now I can't bring myself to do it. So I'd rather you kill me instead and put an end to my misery. I'm already dead to my people and I can't change things or make them right, so death is my only answer." Xena lowered the sword watching as she looked up sadly. "I won't kill you, you don't deserve to die." She eased her weapon back in to his scabbard. "I can't kill you this way ether, I don't kill people in cold blood and I owe it to you to make things right, you've suffered so much because of me and my staff. I know that you don't believe me right now but I will prove it to you and I will not dishonour my word again in your company." She turned looking at the mounted werewolf. "Please take your lovers body and bury in the customs of your people, bury him in the royal gardens in a place you'd you think he would have wanted to be buried." She moved away slowly walking towards the door. "I'll be back to talk to you soon I have some serious matters to attend to regarding the treatment you've received and I want to put them right, before we speak again."

Gabrielle watched as she walked away she had no idea what was going on now, it all felt like a jumbled mess in her head. She had assumed that the Empress would kill her, yet she was still alive. She looked around her wiping her tears away with clawed hand she was too tired and mentally exhausted and she didn't want to speak anymore. She turned looking at her lover's body she just wanted to bury him now, as all werewolves believed that there souls would never be free to fly to Elysian Fields unless their bodies were buried and the fire touches lit in there honour under the moonlight. Damokles had believed in this deeply and she wanted to make sure that his soul was set free to find its way to the Elysian Fields.

8

Kalika watched as the staff peeled the potatoes which they'd use to make a potato stew. She breathed in watching as the rabbits were turned on the cooking spit. She turned watching in surprise as the Empress walked through in to the kitchen, she looked up slightly seeing a dark look in her eyes. "Empress it is a pleasure to see you here, what can I get you to eat?" Xena eyed the other staff. "Everyone is to leave right now I have a personal matter to discuss with Kalika!" Kalika watched as everyone left she swallowed suddenly feeling very nervous. "Empress?" Xena turned slightly to face the older woman. "Rumour has it that you have been doing some rather cruel things to Gabrielle."

She folded her arm leaning against a cupboard opposite. "You burnt her personal list you put her food outside her room so it gets cold as well as putting it on the floor and worst of all you painted a heretic symbol on her door in animal blood and you had her pet killed." Kalika smirked. "Well you turned her in to the dancing bear last night, I don't see why what I did should matter, after all she's just an animal." Xena walked forward she stopped in front of the smaller woman feeling her teeth grind together as she spoke. "What I did last night was wrong! Everyone in this palace has so far told me that it was cruel and the actions of a tyrant and I agree with them. I made a bad choice and I'm not to proud of my actions in anyway." She narrowed her gaze. "If you haven't heard already Iona and the four men who chained up Gabrielle have been defeated by her in combat. Iona is going to spend the next two months in the healer's room because she has a broken arm and three cracked ribs." She breathed in sharply. "On top of that Gabrielle trashed her room and two of the palaces halls tonight. She also smashed in one of the doors to the throne room just so she could get her dead lovers back, the poor unfortunate soul I had mounted some years back."

She leaned closer. "You remember him don't you Kalika? After all it was you who put that idea in to my head if I remember right, you said his body should be turned in to a trophy piece!" She raised her hand. "I've had a very long painfully day today, probably the worst I've had in years and my patience is wearing very thin. So I'll only ask this once and you better not lie to me." She felt her teeth grind together. "You didn't know that werewolf did you, he wasn't related to the loss of your brother at all?" She ignored the older woman's surprise. "Yes I know about your brother Kalika, a werewolf tour him to pieces when you were child, it's the reason you've always hated werewolves." Kalika swallowed before speaking. "He looked similar to the one who killed my brother yes, but he had different eyes, his eyes were brown not light blue." Xena breathed in deeply. "Funny how human werewolf's eyes are isn't it? When you look really hard at them, they speak volumes about what the person is thinking and feeling, clearly your hated has blinded you to this fact."

She stepped back. "From now on you're going to bring all Gabrielle's meals to her personally and you're going to make sure that her plate is put on the table, you're also going to be courteous and polite to her. Every time you do this I want you to look right in to her eyes and think about how she felt being treated in the way she has by you!" Kalika narrowed her gaze. "No I won't do it!" Xena felt her teeth grind together. "It's not a request it's an order." Kalika looked up sharply. "She is an animal it was her kind that killed my brother!" Xena stepped forward eyeing her in disgust. "No Kalika she's not an animal she's a young woman who got turned in to a werewolf through the actions of another werewolf, she had no choice or say in the matter!"

She felt her hand form a fist. "She was sixteen at the time probably not much older than your brother, it's just the werewolf made the discussion to bite her rather than to tear her apart. The truly sad thing is I think she would have preferred a death like your brothers, rather than the path she's been forced to walk down as she's had very little say regarding her lifestyle!" She raised her hand to the other woman's face. "She didn't kill your brother though! Another werewolf did that and that werewolf was no doubt an evil bastard, who probably deserves to die, but she doesn't deserve to suffer for what he did to you!" Kalika looked up finding her voice which sounded weak even to her own ears. "She doesn't even worship the Greek gods…."

Xena put a hand on her shoulder. "Who she worships is her own choice there is no law against her not worshipping the Greek gods in my land. She believes in the goddess Ouroboros and that's her choice, she also believes in her very strongly and she has that right. You on the other hand have no right to dictate religion in side my palace walls and if you ever paint a bloody symbol on her door again, you will be punished." She stepped away eyeing the cook who now looked shaken she turned sharply. "Oh and one last thing before I forget, don't ever kill and cook up Gabrielle's pet again and have Iona serve it to her, you have no right to kill people's palace pets you know perfectly well that its forbidden." Kalika raised her hand to speak only to stop as the Empress turned eyeing her she lowered her head. "Yes Empress."

End of part 30

Silvermoonlight

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