Chapter II

As they broke camp the next morning, Xena offered to help Gabrielle rinse off their dishes. While they squatted at the edge of a small stream, Gabrielle's curiosity go the better of her. She had noticed the black leather cord when Xena had trotted back into their camp the previous evening. She assumed that Xena had had another run-in with Ares. Maybe even a sexual rendezvous. The two of them were frustrating. No! Honestly it was Xena that was frustrating. He had been painfully obvious about what he wanted. He wanted her back, no matter the cost. It was Xena that infuriated Gabrielle. Her friend said one thing and then did another. She claimed that she didn't want the god around but every time he was near, Xena seemed a little too pleased for her liking. It was clear to Gabrielle that Xena still sexually desired him. And, since Xena was tight-lipped where he was concerned, Gabrielle assumed that she had lingering romantic feelings for Ares as well.

"You saw him last night?" Gabrielle asked nonchalantly as she dried the metal dish that Xena handed her.

"I most certainly did not," Xena denied the allegation and scrubbed vigorously at the next plate.

"Xena, why would you lie to me like that?" Gabrielle had expected Xena to change the subject or try to subvert the question but the fact that she had outright lied to her pissed her off.

"I'm not lying,"

Gabrielle roughly grabbed the next dish from Xena.

"Hey," Xena warned.

"Don't "hey" me. Xena you saw him, don't deny it." Gabrielle threw her drying cloth to the ground, stood up and walked two paces away.

"I would tell you if I did! I haven't seen him since right after he brought me back from Jappa. I told him I was finished with him or don't you remember that?"

"Oh yeah?" Gabrielle challenged.

"Yeah," Xena stood and walked toward her friend.

"Then explain the jewelry, Xena! First that necklace you traded for the goat and now that leather bracelet," Gabrielle pointed to the black band, her face grimaced in disgust.

"This?, This?"

"Yes, that! Xena honestly, I didn't think you could be bought with cheap trinkets like a tawdry whore!"

"Jealousy's an ugly thing Gabrielle, you might want to get a hold on your little green monster there!," Xena set her jaw and gave herself a second to get her composure. She looked to the ground. Gabrielle did deserve an explanation but Xena wasn't about to talk to her when she was being hysterical. When Xena looked back at her friend, she could see that it was taking all of Gabrielle's control not to burst into tears. She was certain that the only reason Gabrielle had gone quiet was because the bard knew if she said anything she was going to lose any semblance of control she had left.

"Gabrielle, does this look like something Ares would give me?" Xena raised her wrist up so that her friend could examine the leather cord. It showed forty years of wear. It's dark color had faded in a couple of spots and scratches were evident across the entire band.

"No, but I've never seen it before last night. And that necklace, now that looked like something Ares would have given you."

"He did. But this, I found this last night. I don't want to go into all the details right now, we need to get moving but I came across and old cave that I used to use - when I was younger. I went inside, there were still a few things stashed there, I found this. I took it because Lyceus made it for me. It has nothing to do with Ares."

"I'm sorry, I just assumed." Gabrielle took Xena's hand.

Xena squeezed Gabrielle's hand, the next part would be harder to explain.

"The necklace he gave me the last time I saw him. It was a choker. He said the necklace was symbolic for him getting my head back. That it should serve as a reminder that I am not as invincible as I like to think that I am. I reminded him that I willingly died in Jappa. He just smirked and clasped the necklace around my neck. I don't even know why I kept the damn thing."

"Maybe because you knew if was good-bye and you wanted something to remember him by," Gabrielle certainly hoped that was the reason. The sooner that Xena was done with Ares the better off they'd all be.

Xena squeezed her friends hand even tighter,"Maybe that's it, now can we finish these dishes and get on the road already."

"Alright," Gabrielle answered and headed back to the stream to finish the chore.

"We okay?" Xena asked.

"Yeah," Gabrielle smiled but Xena saw little joy in her eyes.

The two women returned to camp to find Kallias and Iason in a furious debate over who was stronger Hercules or Atlas.

"But Atlas holds up the whole world, so technically he even holds up Hercules," Iason exclaimed sure that his logic was unassailable.

"Yeah, but Hercules could do it to," Kallias stuck her tongue out at her big brother, "couldn't he Xena, tell him that Hercules is stronger."

"You're not getting me in the middle of this! Besides Gabrielle knows more about gods and demi-gods than I do, she's a bard after all."

Gabrielle harumphed.

"Yeah," Daria interjected, "Xena thought Ares was handsome."

"Well," Gabrielle answered," actually, he is quite handsome. He is surely dark and wicked but he is very good-looking. See, that's part of his allure."

Xena pretended not to listen as she made last minute adjustments to their packs.

"Did you ever see him?" Iason asked.

"Yes, I tell you about the time that Aphrodite enchanted my scroll after we get on the road, okay?"

The kids were delighted and Xena thought it'd be nice to hear one of Gabrielle's stories in which she wasn't the primary subject, it became embarrassing after a while.

Xena insisted that they eat lunch on the go. They only stopped long enough to milk, Nan-nan, the name they kids had settled on for the goat. Xena also insisted that Kallias and Daria ride with her, she hoped if they picked up the pace a little that they could make her grandmother's farm by nightfall.

Iason didn't complain, he just tried to match Gabrielle stride for stride. He felt like they were getting closer too. He had only been to Amphipolis once with his father last Spring to deliver some grain and turnips to his grandfather. They had stayed two night because the weather had turned unexpectedly bad. This would be Kallias' first time to meet their grandpa.

"I don't think we're too far. There's an old farmhouse around here with a pond that has good fishing. Father and I took grandpa some fish when we visited last year," Iason announced.

"So this is your father's father?" Gabrielle queried.

"No, it's my mother's father but Mother couldn't make the trip last year because she was pregnant. Grandpa promised he would visit us this summer so he could meet Kallias and the baby but his work at the tavern makes it hard for him to travel for very long." Iason stopped to let Nan-Nan nibble at some greenery.

"The tavern in Amphipolis, I thought it was destroyed," Xena was beginning to wonder about Iason's story.

"It was but then my grandfather returned home and started rebuilding his hometown. He said his mother had once run the town's tavern and that no city-state was complete without a tavern, so he opened one in the same spot that hers had been."

Xena brought Argo to a halt, "Iason what's your grandfather's name?"

"Toris," Iason and Kallias replied in unison.

"Toris? Are you sure?" Gabrielle turned to look at the boy.

"His mother was Cyrene?" Xena asked to clarify.

"How did you know?" Iason looked up at Xena confused but kept a tight fist on Nan-Nan's reigns.

"Did your grandfather ever mention his sister? Xena questioned. The boy's resemblance to Lyceus made so much sense to her now.

"His brother and sister are both dead. They were great warriors." Iason answered proudly.

"Well, that's not all true, Iason," Gabrielle gestured to Xena, "this is your great-aunt, Xena."

"What?" Kallias looked up from where she sat in front of Xena.

"Xena is your grandfather's sister," Gabrielle answered.

All three children eyed Xena. She only nodded her head to confirm.

"But he's a really old man, and she's . . ." Iason started.

"I'll explain it all later but it's the truth, she's your aunt."

"Wow, he'll be so happy to see you," Iason cried.

"And I, him," Xena whispered and swallowed hard, "now let's get a move on."

Xena looked at the cord around her wrist and wondered if Lyceus had been trying to tell her something. She looked up to the heavens and smiled, "Yiyi, girl," she ordered Argo.

The setting sun blazed a bright orange behind a row of pines casting the farmhouse in silhouette. It wasn't in as bad shape as they had found it with Ares nearly two years ago but it would need some work if anyone was planning on staying there for any extended length of time. Luckily, they only needed to use it for overnight shelter, they'd be staying with her brother tomorrow night. Xena was excited to see Toris. She hadn't seen him in over thirty years. She guessed that she had just missed him by a couple of months when she had last been here with Ares. Iason said that his father and he had been by this way last Spring and she had gotten Ares his godhood back the previous winter. Could Toris have already been in Amphipolis? Probably so if he had taken the time to rebuild their mother's tavern. Xena had been so preoccupied with getting the golden apples that she hadn't bothered to visit her hometown when she had retrieved Ares from the farm.

Gabrielle helped the two girls off of Argo. Xena could barely contain her excitement when she dismounted. The floorboards creaked when she bolted onto the front porch. There was no light coming from inside or smoke coming from the chimney, so Xena was fairly sure that the place was uninhabited. Still, she opened the door slowly and surveyed the interior before giving the children the go ahead to enter.

"Is this place haunted?" Kallias asked warily as she reluctantly followed Iason and Daria across the threshold.

"No, of course not," Xena reassured. "I'm gonna check the woodpile out back and see if we can get a fire started," Xena was grinning from ear to ear as she walked back out the front door.

"I'll milk the goat and feed the baby," Gabrielle answered but Xena was already gone.

"What do you want us to do?" Iason asked.

"Can you go get the saddle bags and start unpacking the cookware, Iason? Kallias, you and Daria grab some rags and start wiping these surfaces down so we can eat at the table."

The children began doing their assigned tasks and Gabrielle retrieved Nan-Nan, took her to the empty chicken enclosure that they had built for Ares, tethered her and tried milking her which she found difficult with Amyntas strapped to the front of her torso.

"Hi there," Gabrielle heard a familiar high-pitched voice call from behind her. She turned to see Greba walking toward her carrying an infant of her own. A young man, Gabrielle guessed him to be in his mid-twenties, walked by her side.

"Greba, how have you been?"

"Gabrielle, oh just fabulous, meet Malkus, he's my husband and this is our baby girl, Pallas."

"Baby girl?" Gabrielle asked more interested in the infant than the gorgeous blond man.

Greba was disappointed in Gabrielle's reaction. She was proud of her handsome catch and liked to flaunt it in other women's faces. Being stuck out in the country she didn't often get that chance. "Yes, a baby but. . ."

"But nothing, look, we have an infant here, that is in bad need of nursing,"

"Well, uh," Greba was going to protest.

"He was orphaned, we found him in a village a couple of days journey from here. He's only had goats milk for the last two days," Gabrielle unwrapped the baby boy and offered him to Greba.

"I'll take Pallas," Malkus offered and turned to Gabrielle, "what happened to his parents if you don't mind my asking?"

"Their village was destroyed, some warlord, Xena and I haven't had time to look into it, our primary concern has been getting these children safely to Amphipolis."

"Well, they may not be safe there either," Malkus warned.

"Why's that," the bard asked.

"Plague hit there about a month back, we've avoided all contact, everyone in the countryside has. When we first heard you guys come in, we were fearful that you were refugees from there. When Greba saw that warrior woman, she said it was safe, something about this being her grandparents' farm."

Xena came around the corner of the farmhouse carrying an armload of wood. Seeing Gabrielle with the others she placed the logs on the porch and walked over to join them.

Malkus extended his free arm in greeting, "Hello, I'm Malkus."

"Xena, nice to meet you," Xena politely answered and then turned to Greba, "you're nursing that's great. He can certainly use the breast milk."

"Yes, yes," Greba huffed. What was wrong with these women, didn't they notice the stud of a man she had married?"And, Malkus is MY husband."

"Congratulations," Xena responded not sure what Greba was fishing for but settled on a generic complement.

Finally, Greba smiled satisfied that at least Xena appreciated her man's beauty. She turned her attention to the Amyntas who was sucking vigorously at her breast.

"Xena, I have bad news," Gabrielle took Xena by the elbow and gently pulled her to the side.

"What is it?" Xena's brow furrowed in concern.

"It's Amphipolis, Malkus said it was hit with a plague last month."

Xena looked past the treeline toward where she knew her village lay. "Any survivors?"

"Not sure, Malkus didn't say, he just said that everyone was avoiding the place."

"I'm going, I'll leave in the morning," Xena stated.

"Do you think that's safe? With the kids?"

"You misunderstood. I am going, not you, not the kids. I'm gonna go and see how bad it is and see if I can help the sick. We can't run the risk of exposing the children. You will stay here with them."

"Xena my place is by your side. If you are going into danger. . ."

Xena place two fingers on Gabrielle's lips to stop her, "stop, think about these little ones. They've been through enough already. And now it's possible that their grandfather is gone too," a single tear rolled down Xena's check. Gabrielle reached to wipe it away but Xena jerked her head away. She didn't want to be comforted.

"I'll leave in the morning. See if you can get some rations from Greba, I'm gonna grab a bite and try to get some sleep."

When Xena walked into the farmhouse, she handed Iason her flint rock and knife, "do you know how to get a fire started, Iason?"

He nodded, his chest swelled with pride that his aunt Xena was trusting him to build the fire.

"Good, I left some logs on the porch, you should find plenty of kindling out there. I'll be in the bedroom if you need me, Gabrielle's out front with the neighbors."

Daria sensed something was wrong with Xena, "Everything okay?"

Xena squatted so that she was on Daria's level. She twined a strand of the girl's soft brown hair in her fingers and looked into her crystal blue eyes, "everything's gonna be okay, I just have some things I have to attend to tomorrow and you four are going to stay here with Gabrielle for the time being. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise."

"But what about Amphipolis?" Iason asked.

"I am riding ahead to make sure everything is safe," Xena didn't want to lie to them but she didn't want to worry them unnecessarily with the details either.

"Did that evil army attack there too?" Kallias asked.

Xena respected the astuteness of the question. "No, it's not that, I just wanna make sure it's safe for you guys, especially Amyntas."

The answer satisfied Iason but Daria was still wary, Xena could see it in her expressive eyes. Xena patted her head to reassure her. "Now, I'm going to get some sleep, I want to get an early start."

Xena closed the door to the bedroom and just stood with her back to the door for a minute. She hoped she wasn't too late for Toris' sake. She didn't want to think about losing another brother. What was she going to do with the children if their grandfather was dead?

She decide that she would try to keep a positive outlook. She was letting grief and fear get the better of her and she didn't even know if there was anything to grieve just yet.

Focus, she had to focus. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself. As always she found him there, at her core. It infuriated her but it calmed her as well. She took a moment to let the feeling wash over her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that there were blankets already on the bed. They were covered in dust and would have to be beaten out before they could be used. She stripped the bed and tossed them into the corner. She opened the chest where her grandmother had kept the spare bedding. She found a couple of useable blankets and tossed them onto the bed. When she started looking through the pile of pillows at the bottom of the chest she found a linen sleep shirt. She stripped off her armor and her leathers and pulled the shirt over her naked body. The fabric was cool and fit her lengthwise though it was a bit roomy in the chest. It smelled faintly familiar. She took a deep whiff of the fabric and a vision of Ares in the tunic and matching linen pants shot through her like a hot poker. He must have worn the shirt when he stayed there. She debated throwing the garment off but decided she would allow herself the guilty pleasure of luxuriating in the comforting sensations that the shirt created. She would never let him hold her, comfort her but the shirt with his lingering scent and presence was a way to feel him close without dealing with the recriminations in the morning. As she crawled into bed, she didn't know what the morrow would bring but she did know without a doubt that whatever the world threw at her, she would be able to endure it.