AN: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get to you. I actually finished writing it a while ago, but then I graduated from college (yay! :D) and went traveling to see some family, so this is the first time I've have the time and stable enough internet to post this. But, the final chapter of 'Your Name Written On My Wrist' is complete and here! I hope you all enjoy it- I had a ton of fun writing it.
After everything- after Hercules, after the gauntlet her men forced her to walk, after all the death and fighting and war, Xena was tired.
Tired of killing for no cause other than personal gain. Tired of chasing a destiny that she never seemed able to fulfill. Tired of the fear, the anger, the hate and the rage. Tired of slaughtering people like sheep, watching her own men be killed time after time in useless battles that lost almost as much as they won.
Xena was just tired. And with the path Hercules had pointed out stretching long before her, it seemed like it would be a long time before she rested. But at least that path, one where she fought for the good of others instead of her own personal gain, monetary or otherwise, had a light at the end of the tunnel. It would be hard and it would be long and full of darkness, but it was a path she could walk.
If she could get her toes on it, that is. That first step was the hardest, but most necessary of them all.
She tried to shed her past, burying the leathers and weapons that had been her constant companions for so long. But the moment she finished stamping down the dirt, they arrived.
Although she had only dabbled in the slave trade- just overall a disgusting thing, but occasionally one necessary to keep her men fed and from turning against her (earlier then they eventually did)- she recognized immediately the worth of the girls. While she herself had only ever sold the men that had survived standing up to her, the girls gathered together were worth a hefty price. Young, most of them pretty, presumably virgins since the smaller villages seemed to care about that status more than the cities. Each one worth a decent sized bag of dinars at a slave market.
If they ever got there.
She didn't catch the name of the girl who stood up to the slavers, nor could she even really see her- hidden as she was in the bushes, with the group of girls blocked by the men trying to round them up, Xena's line of sight was limited at best, almost non-existent when some of the men shuffled around their prey.
But she did see the whip as it was placed into the man's hand, watched as it uncoiled in a familiar way that made her stomach turn, and she had to step in. Even without her armor, her weapons, wearing nothing but her cloth shift, she had to. The fight wasn't hard- the men weren't used to resistance, and hadn't been expecting it from a woman of all people. Even when the others turned away from the group of girls they were trying to kidnap and towards her, theoretically putting her at a great disadvantage, she still won.
She was Xena, and Warrior Princess or not, Destroyer of Nations or not, she wasn't about to let a band of boys playing at being men beat her. And she wasn't going to let them take the girls while she was at it.
Back and forwards she fought, splitting her attention between the men coming right at her and those trying to corral the girls out of sight- in their own way the girls were impressive. Some of them were holding their own, striking out with inefficient punches and smacks that still took their captor's attention, even if it didn't hurt them. The one in the blue blouse, the same one who had stood up to them, offering herself in the other's places, was especially so, using her small form and quick movements to break free of one's grasp after Xena hit him with the spear to kick him in the face.
She lost sight of the girl when one of the men managed to knock her down, unknowingly letting her fall right on top of where she had just finished burying her weapons. From there it was a child's game- with her sword and chakram in hand, the rest of them quickly fell before her, soon run off by the village men who had joined them.
She sent her message to Draco, watched as the leader of the little band of slavers quivered before her, then let him leave, sure he would deliver her words promptly.
She stayed, for a little bit, watching as the villagers gathered together their people, tending to the few wounds their own had accumulated in the fight. A few came up to her, thanking her for her help, though most stayed aware, clearly wary of her. Not that she could blame them- she had seen the fear flicker in their eyes when she had said her name, and combined with her fighting skills, she was sure most, if not all, of them knew who she was.
So when most of them were gone, she dug up her armor and turned to leave. She had to get far away from these people, as fast as she could. It wouldn't be long before Draco knew where she was, and he would stop at nothing to try and kill her. Or own her. Or both. She really didn't know which, and she really didn't care to find out.
But to stay would put the people she had just helped in more danger, and even though she had only just started on her path to the redemption Hercules had promised her, she had enough compassion in her to not want that.
"Wait."
Xena froze at the girl's voice, the same voice that had stood up to the slavers when they had first arrived. The girl in the blue blouse, whose bravery had momentarily distracted Xena in the fight.
Part of her told her to turn around, to at least get a face to go along with the voice and the brave actions. But Xena remained still- she knew what she would see in the girl's eyes, the same look she had seen in almost every pair that knew her. Anger, hate, fear- knowing what was coming, Xena stayed still, facing away from the girl, instead focusing on returning her greaves to her forearms, where they belonged.
For a moment she paused, looking at the name she hadn't considered in so long, before retying the laces that once again covered it.
"Wait, please," the girl said again when Xena took another step, assuming she would say no more. "Your name-"
"Is Xena," Xena said, half turning towards the girl- the teenager, Xena amended, for the girl couldn't have been more than seventeen, eighteen at the most. "You might also know me as the Warrior Princess, Destroyer of Nations, or, one of my favorites from the good old days, The Conqueror. Take your pick."
She was hoping the girl would be satisfied with her answer, would leave now that she knew she had been saved from slavery by the terrible ex-warlord. They all did, when they found out who she was- fled, drove her out, tried to find some way to kill her (though those people never got far). Xena was used to it, and the quicker this girl did the exact same thing, the better.
But she didn't. Instead the girl stepped closer, so only a few feet were between them, and spoke again.
"Please. Xena. Look at me."
So she did. She didn't know why- perhaps it was the slight quiver in the girl's voice, the hint of desperation, but she did. She turned around and took in the girl standing before her- nice shape from what she could see in the way the blue blouse and tan skirt fell; a black strip of cloth tied around her wrist, covering the name that should have been there; reddish gold hair that hung thickly around her shoulders; a pretty, almost beautiful face, if it weren't for the current stress lines, and her eyes-
The moment their eyes met, it was like she had been thrown into the center of Hephaestus' forge, stabbed through the gut with Ares' own sword, impaled with Artemis and Athena's golden and silver arrows, trampled by Apollo's chariot, and zapped by Zeus' great lightning bolt all at the same time. It was as if a fire seared through her blood and bones, tearing a pained gasp from her lips, and the only one who could put it out, who could end her suffering, was the girl standing before her.
"They told me you were dead, that you had died when we were young. There was a tomb stone and a grave and I cried for you and I was so sure you were gone. And then they arranged a marriage with my best friend but I don't want to marry him, I only ever even considered it because I thought you were dead and-"
She was babbling, the words falling unheard from her mouth as Xena took the steps forward to close the gap, stopping with only a hair's width between them. She waited for the words to stop, then laughed when they didn't, one hand rising to brush against her cheek. Bending over- she was short, a whole head shorter than her, but Xena couldn't care- Xena stopped with their noses brushing, using every ounce of self-control that she had to do so.
So close, she wondered how she ever could have hated her. How she ever could have allowed her heart to be turned away from her other half, when everything suddenly felt so right. How she ever could have considered taking a sword to this girl, when the thought of harming her broke her heart. A thousand thoughts spinning through her mind, Xena forced them all to quiet, so she could focus on the girl before her.
Whispering her name soft as a prayer, Xena closed the gap between them and kissed Gabrielle, finally allowing their souls to become one.
(Later she would try to leave Gabrielle at home- it was dangerous with her, especially for such a young, innocent girl. And just knowing that her soulmate was alive and well would have been enough, even if the pain of leaving her felt almost fatal. But Gabrielle would follow.
"If you think I'm losing you now, just after I found you, after I've thought you've been dead for the last four years, then you're more insane then the rumors make you out to be."
And Lao Ma would turn out to be right- before long, Gabrielle was Xena's source, her light, her best friend, her reason for waking up every morning, just so she could do the good she needed to do to be worthy of her. She had too many sins to pay for, so many crimes to make right, but with Gabrielle besides her, helping her, keeping her walking that narrow path between her light and dark to reach the end of that very long road, Xena knew she could do it.
And each night, lying in their bed rolls, staring at the stars above, trying to get each other to see the shapes the heavens had made for them, Xena would hold out her hand for Gabrielle to take, intertwining their fingers to hold her tight.
"I'm glad," Xena would say one night, many years after they first met, "that it was your name written on my wrist. I love you, Gabrielle."
"I love you too, Xena."
And just like every other night, since the first they had found each other, they would sleep in each other's arms, their souls at peace for having found their other half.)
AN: Ok, so. A couple of people have asked me how the whole soulmate thing would change the series. And honestly, it wouldn't, not by much. You all remember those 'guy of the week' mini-romances Gabrielle had every single episode in season 1? Yeah, those would just be friendships. She also never would have married Perdicus. They still would have met up, and Gabrielle still probably would have split from Xena because of him, but it would have been more of a "He was my best friend growing up, and we thought for years we would have been siblings because we believed our soulmates were sisters, and now he's hurting and I can help stop his pain. So I'm taking him home and helping him cope" kind of deal instead of "He proposed and now I'm magically in love despite hating him before I left with you because he now needs me and the sex was good" (In case you can't tell, I'm slightly bitter. Jk, but they still could have handled that better). Perdicus would still die by Callisto's hand, and pretty much everything else for the rest of the series, except the little side romances that popped up every once in a while, would be the same. We would just get the Warrior Bard ship right out of season 1 instead of later.
But yeah. I hope you guys all enjoyed this little series! I had fun writing it.