TO SEE A DEEPER MEANING

Gabrielle took a deep breath from her pipe she blew out the dark smoke watching as it flowed through the air. She eased up the wooden piece she was working on cutting in to it deeply with one of her tools. She had missed the rich smell of wood and oils as well as the sweet smell of paint powder, which had to be mixed with egg yolk which would turn it in to a thick paste which could be painted on to the wood's surface. She carried on carving in to the wood putting one boot on the desk in side the small work room. She moved her other hand twisting the scroll around which she'd sketched on eyeing the small sitting griffin figure which she'd mapped out, it would be a gift for Thaleia as a thank you for the shirt and thick belt which she could now wear in her other form.

As soon as she'd finished this she'd make a figure for her mother, she wasn't a writer but she did know how to sketch and she understood how cogs and mechanisms worked as well moving parts. She eyed the wooden Black Cap on the desks side table which had wings which you could open and close just by pressing its chest. It was based on an inner spring mechanism which had taken her two years to perfect. Pressing on the bird's chest put pressure on the miniature spring which in turn forced the wings open. Once you pressed the chest area again the pressure was eased and the wings would close. It was a design concept which she had always been very proud off.

She carried on carving turning the wood eyeing the part which would the griffins head she hated to admit it to herself but it was nice to be able to do her favourite hobby again. She found working with wood more relaxing than anything else it was one of the few times when she could just shut off and focus on the task at hand and not think about anything else. She breathed in her pipe again eyeing the sun shine which was coming in from the open window opposite her new work desk when she looked out she could see the royal gardens bellow. She could also hear the laugher from the children who were playing a game while Fedora watched them closely.

She breathed out the smoke from her pipe trying to ignore the pain as it rose in her chest, something about them playing reminded her off home when she'd been growing up. She had vivid memories of playing ball with sister and the other children in the village in the hot summer sun before what remained of her child hood had been taken away from her. She looked down as she carried on carving the griffin's head she didn't know why she was still here, she had been told she could leave yet she couldn't bring herself to walk through those palace huge gates which would lead her through Corinth and back to the werewolf city she called home, truth was she had nothing out there to go back to.

Somehow she felt safer here despite what she'd suffered here she at least had two genuine friends. Fedora and Thaleia both cared about her they were the first people she'd met in a long while who had been kind to her. She didn't want loose that she didn't want to go back to feeling truly alone in her life, she hated that feeling of being miserable and depressed. As far as she was concerned two real friends was far better than having no friends at all and she'd stay here for them if nothing else. She didn't care that they were humans it wasn't as though she'd ever agreed with the Imperial Councils view of humanity. For most of her life she'd had to put up other werewolves trying to drill in to her that having a moral compass made her weak, in her view her honour and her morals were the thing that made her human even if she wasn't human.

"Do you like your new desk?"

Gabrielle turned sharply watching as the Empress came in to view behind her she felt herself tense as she put down the wooden piece she was carving. Didn't this woman ever knock? She eased the pipe out of her mouth as she breathed out the smoke meeting her light blue eyes, which matched Damokles so perfectly that she found them so hard to ignore. She lowered her gaze not wanting to look in to them anymore. "Was there something you wanted Empress?" Xena breathed in painfully once more she was being tolerated by Gabrielle, she could tell even by the sound of her voice that she didn't want her here in the room at all. She lowered her gaze now she knew how it felt every time had Gabrielle had entered her study.

She hadn't seen her and she really wanted to speak to her, she wanted to start over again but she now realized that it could only come from her side. Gabrielle was not going to come to her room or speak to her and despite that she'd seen her in werewolf form last night walking the palace gardens, but the moment Gabrielle had seen her she'd walked in the other direction clearly avoiding her. She eased up her hands. "I really wanted to speak to you." Gabrielle eased up the wooden piece she picked up the carving blade moving it across the head of the griffin. "I'm busy." Xena took a slow step forward eyeing the wooden piece she was working on she could already see what looked like a break and part of the head. "What are you carving?"

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. "What do you care?" Xena eyed the wooden piece gods she was making this hard for her. "I was interested because its looks good, I can see its head and its ears, who is it for?" Gabrielle eyed her in disgust. "It's not for you, so don't flatter yourself." Xena looked up sharply feeling the pain in her chest that remark was so cutting. She knew that Gabrielle was very good carpenter and if her birds were anything to go by she also had an understanding of mechanisms, springs and moving parts. She loved her Goldfinch even though it wasn't hers she looked down sadly but that was why she'd really come here to return it. As it had never been intended for her, it belonged to Damokles and though he was dead she had no right to keep it.

Truth was she'd been putting this off because she really didn't want to give it back, she'd in a way fallen in love with it. She also knew that once she gave it back she'd never see it again and she highly doubted that Gabrielle would ever make her one like it. Clearly they were special things which she only made for those she loved deeply. She eased her hand in her pouch as she came to stand next to the younger woman who carried on carving as if she wasn't there. She eased the small Goldfinch out opening her hand so she could see it. "I came here to return this to you." Gabrielle felt herself freeze in mid motion as she stared at the Goldfinch in the dark haired woman's open hand.

She slowly put down her wood carving blade as she turned her chair to look at it she had assumed that this piece had been lost or stolen and that she'd never see it again. She eyed the taller woman who remained still feeling her eyes dart. "Where did you get this?" Xena eyed the wooden bird. "It was in your chest of items." She breathed in sharply. "I took it, which was wrong of me." Gabrielle eased her hand towards the Goldfinch only to stop she looked up slightly feeling the confusion take over. "Why did you take it?" Xena eyed the little bird. "I thought it so beautifully carved and painted, I'd never seen anything like it before I wanted to keep it." She eyed the Black Cap on the table. "I didn't realize that's its wings opened like its counterpart and it never occurred to me to open them until recently." She lowered her gaze sadly. "I saw the message you wrote inside and realized that this wasn't intended for me and I had no right to keep it."

Gabrielle looked up slightly as she took the bird from her hand turning it between her fingers feeling the sadness take over as her anger drained away she could see in the other woman's eyes that she was being genuine. "You like this carving?" Xena nodded sadly. "Yes I do I just couldn't bring myself to believe it was carved by you, as I saw you as a monster and not a human being." Gabrielle eyed the bird not really wanting to open the wings. "What changed your mind?" Xena eyed the small bird. "Monsters don't feel pain or sorrow and they don't cry, they also don't write messages like the one inside that Goldfinches wings. Only someone who has a truly human heart writes something with that much feeling and I let my bad judgement cloud me to that truth."

She tensed slightly. "It was easier for me when I saw you as a monster, it meant I could treat you how ever I wished and not feel any guilt over my actions regardless of whether I hurt your feelings or laughed at you. You were right to call me Conqueror, in your presence I was the Conqueror and I was the one who was the monster not you." She sighed painfully. "You said that you couldn't kill me because when you look in to my eyes you see Damokles but I think it's much more than that. I believe you're very noble and that's another reason you didn't take the killer blow which most of my enemies could only dream off. I believe you'd rather battle face to face with your opponent than stab them in the back."

Gabrielle stared at the Goldfinch in her hand for a long moment before meeting the other woman's gaze. "There is no honour in stabbing some one in the back its not even fair combat, he taught me that, he believed in honour." Xena took in a deep breath. "You must have loved him very much I can tell by the way you talk about him." Gabrielle breathed in painfully. "He is the only person who ever loved me for who I am, everyone else only cared about what I could give them they were never honest with me." She eyed the bird in her hand sadly. "Now all I have left is my memories and this bird." Xena lowered her gaze sadly. "Some time the memories are all we have and that makes them worth holding on to."

Gabrielle eyed her for a long moment, she hadn't expected this at all and now she felt very out of her element. She had expected the Empress to suck up to her that was she was used to when it came to people in powerful positions. They also liked to give her gifts because they just assumed they could win her over with out any other effort apart from that. She thought that the Empress was doing the same when she'd thrown gifts at her. She hadn't expected her to care about her now that her dead lover had been buried. She'd also just assumed that her apologises had been her just going through the motions due to her guilty conscience because she'd turned her in to a dancing animal for her royal guests.

She eased up her lit pipe putting it in her mouth breathing in deeply as she eyed the little bird once more before hoping that she could relax herself again. The Empress had given this back to her and it had been a genuine offering with out any string attached, she breathed out the smoke making sure that it didn't go in the other woman's direction. "Thank you for giving me this back." Xena blinked in surprise she'd never heard Gabrielle say thank you in the whole time she'd been here and now to hear it from her lips sounded strange. She paused as an awkward fell silence between them, she stepped back nodding her head respectful as she spoke feeling the need to break it. "Your welcome." Gabrielle put the bird down gently so it was next to its counterpart as she turned back to the wooden carving. "It's a griffin." Xena looked up sharply. "What?" Gabrielle lowered her gaze. "The piece I'm carving…it's a griffin." Xena blinked before looking up. "It looks good who ever receives it will be pleased I'm sure."

She moved towards the door which led out of the spare room. "I'll let you carry on." Gabrielle watched as she walked out of the door closing it behind her. She breathed out the smoke from her pipe nothing about there talk made sense in her head. She had not expected this conversation to end this way. She felt even more confused as any one who had taken one of her wooden pieces had never ever given it back to her. She put a hand though her hair why did it feel like everything had become very strange all of a sudden? She was so used to everything making such perfect sense in her life yet here she sat feeling oddly confused by everything which had just transpired.

8

Iona looked at the closed door of the healer's room she took in a deep breath she was feeling very alone in her life right now. The walls around her seemed to echo that emptiness and loneliness. It felt as though there was no one beside her and that she could be screaming and no one would hear her, she hadn't felt this way since her parents had died. She eyed the candle which was burning close as she looked around the healer's room which was dark and empty she was going to be stuck in here for two months maybe more and she was already bored out of her mind. There was nothing to do and no one to talk to apart from Phantasos and just about every word he spoke was dripping with distain. She moved only to feel the intense pain in her ribs gods, how was Gabrielle so good in combat? The bitch really knew just what to break and what hurt the most the only thing she just couldn't figure out was why she'd let her live? She had, had her just where she wanted her so why not finish the job completely and give her a warrior's death, anyone else would have?

She turned watching as the door handle started to turn, it was probably Phantasos she looked up as the door creaked open only to freeze as she caught sight of the huge figure moving towards her on all fours in a very slow manner. She grabbed the candle in a violent motion just in time to watch as the forest green eyes came in to view as the huge werewolf stood over her looking down on her. She sneered watching as Gabrielle's eyes moved as her huge jaws opened slightly. "Why are you here!" Gabrielle eyed the candle in her hand clearly Iona assumed this was an attack. She moved one large clawed hand putting it on the side of the bed very close to her arm, ignoring her confusion as she spoke evenly. "I was just walking by."

Iona eyed her in disgust. "That's great now why don't you go walk somewhere else you overgrown dog!" Gabrielle didn't think as she grabbed her by the throat pulling her up slowly ignored her struggling. "I am not a dog my name is Gabrielle!" Iona eased up the candle painfully getting ready to force it in to the big clawed hand which now had her held up. "Is this why you're here? To finish what you started?" Gabrielle eyed her for a long moment she pulled her hand away watching as she fell back on the bed wincing in pain. "I have no intention of killing you Iona." She eased up a clawed hand. "I just want a question answered which has been playing on my mind ever since we first met." Iona breathed in painfully keeping a tight hold of the candle stick ignoring the wax as it dripped droplets on the bed. "Oh let me guess you want to know why I don't like you?"

Gabrielle narrowed her gaze. "Hardly, I already know the answer to that question already you hate me because you can't have what I possess." Iona breathed in sharply. "How do you know that? You've been talking to Chara no doubt." Gabrielle shook her head. "No I haven't I've seen the way you look at me, I know that look of power, I've seen it on so many faces and yours was always obvious." She shook her mane. "Oh and of course if I was to die say you'd be the first to try and scratch yourself with my clawed hand right? So you could have this pass on to you." She paused eyeing the woman on the bed. "Well here's something you need to know, if I die you won't get what you want, you see these horns growing on my head come with a high price."

She watched as Iona turned to her in surprise. "The rest of the werewolf population can go around biting people and producing more werewolves, but not me because there can be only ever be one horned werewolf. So I am for all intensive purposes sterile, this means that I don't carry the curse anymore, oh I could bite you and scratch you but you wouldn't turn you'd just bleed to death." She tapped her clawed fingers on the bed. "So what you're looking for you won't get from me Iona and believe me someone like you should never have that kind of power. I knew some one once who was just like you are now, her name is Adrienne, pray you never meet her. Because then you'll see a real monster, you'll also see why some people should never become werewolves."

She stepped away from the bed. "Humanity is a wonderful thing you should be embracing it, because when it's gone it's lost to you forever." Iona painfully put the candle down. "Why are you telling me this, even after everything I've done to you, I don't get it?" Gabrielle turned slightly. "Because I don't want you to turn in to Adrienne, because then you and I would have nothing more to talk about." Iona watched as she went down on all fours, she understood that cryptic response perfectly. She watched as Gabrielle walked out of the room closing the door behind her she lay back on the bed taking in a deep breath despite the pain in her ribs. So much for a quite night she narrowed her gaze hating the silence of the room once more, at least when Gabrielle had been here she'd had some one to talk to.

End of part 34

Silvermoonlight

Well you all get this one early because you've all been good, no I'm kidding enjoy :D