Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter four of "Lift the Veil." This chapter has some Borias/Xena. Carlie, Samuel, and Darla are introduced in the next one. Borias and Xena meet Gabrielle for the first time as well. Stay tuned for chapter five.
XXXXX
Chapter 4: First Meeting/Conversation
A rock pigeon flew through the sky above the forest. It spotted Johnathan and Carlie's house and flew downward. It landed on the roof with a soft squeak. It looked around, letting out soft chirps. The house happened to be large and set before a large field. It had seven bedrooms. The front area contained a porch with three chairs. A clothesline hung from a hook next to the back door and was tied to a nearby tree.
Thirty-eight-year-old Carlie and two young women went out the back door while holding baskets of clothes. She was rather tall for a woman. She had light skin and a lean frame. Her blue eyes had bags underneath them. Her long brown hair was straight. It was tied up in a bun with a few strands sticking out. A very small number of gray streaks could be seen.
Carlie and the women went to the clothesline and put their baskets down. Her companions proceeded to grab clothes and pins. She heard laughter and looked over to see Gabrielle holding Sam and Darla's hands as she walked them around. She grabbed a short-sleeved shirt and a pin. She hung the former over the clothesline. She held it in place with the latter.
Sam babbled while looking around. He resembled Johnathan, except he had no hair on his head whatsoever. He was a little tall for his age, but he looked normal otherwise. He had a birthmark on the back of his hand. It was in the shape of a line going across from one end to the next. His left cheek contained a tiny scar on it.
Darla balled her hand into a fist and proceeded to chew on it. She looked a lot like Carlie with the exception of having brown eyes. She was normal size for her age. Her short brown hair was straight, except for curls at the tips. Her eyebrows were thin to the point they looked invisible. Her face was full of freckles, some merging with each other.
Gabrielle came to a stop when she saw a frog. She went down to the twins' eye level and gestured toward it. Sam and Darla smiled when they saw it. They went over to it. He picked it up and looked it over. She touched its back, giggling warmly at how smooth its skin was. He laid it down very gently. Carlie glanced toward them and smiled.
"Nothing like finding a frog, is there, Gabrielle?" Carlie asked.
"No, there isn't," Gabrielle admitted and rose to her full height. "I looked for frogs with Lila when I was a kid. We often got pretty dirty. Our parents weren't exactly thrilled with that."
"I see," Carlie responded. "I was never allowed to do anything dirty because my parents considered that unfit for a woman."
"Did you ever go out and get yourself very dirty?" Gabrielle wondered.
"Once or twice. My parents were furious each time. My father whipped me ten times after each incident," Carlie mumbled, a frown forming on her face.
"It makes me sick parents whip their children over the tiniest mishaps. It creates fear of failure," Gabrielle commented in anger.
"I ran away when I was fifteen. I could not take the strictness anymore. I met Johnathan when I ran into him in Sparta. He was the same age I was. His parents took me under their wing. They had several slaves working for them at the time. They treated me like their daughter. I spent a lot of time with him. We fell in love and married eight years later. We took over the household after his parents died. The rest is history," Carlie explained and slipped a lock of hair behind her ear.
Gabrielle sighed warmly. "That is a fascinating story."
"I am sure we will enjoy the stories you will be telling us," Carlie said, winking at her.
"I can't wait to tell them," Gabrielle said eagerly. "I have so many that I have lost count."
Carlie furrowed her brow. "Storytelling is as old as time itself. It will never end."
Johnathan stepped outside while sipping water from a mug. He spotted Ryan, Veena, Borias, and Xena coming out of the forest. He looked toward Gabrielle and whistled loudly. She shifted her attention toward him.
"Yes, sir?" Gabrielle asked as she came to him.
"Borias and Xena are here," Johnathan responded gently. "It's time for you to meet them."
Gabrielle nodded at him. "Okay."
Johnathan and Gabrielle went over to the quartet. Borias, Xena, Ryan, and Veena stopped before them. The women clasped their hands together before taking deep breaths.
"Borias, Xena, this is Gabrielle," Johnathan said while gesturing toward the young woman. "Gabrielle, this is Borias and Xena. They are my best workers."
"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you two," Gabrielle said, his voice showing a bit of excitement. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. She took it off and placed it at her side. "I never thought I would meet the great Borias. It is so weird you ended up as a slave after saving so many villages from warlords."
"How it happened is not pleasant at all," Borias admitted sadly.
"I imagine," Gabrielle said, a nervous chuckle leaving her mouth.
"You will learn how it happened in a little while," Borias assured with a raised eyebrow.
"Xena, I've heard about your reputation for protecting people from cruelty, no matter what their status is. That is really amazing," Gabrielle said as she turned to Xena.
Xena held out her hands. "Well, someone has to stand up to bullies. It might as well be me."
"It takes a lot of courage to stand up to bullies. I defended many kids from them when I was young. This includes my sister. Her name was Lila," Gabrielle admitted proudly.
"You did?" Xena asked in surprise.
Gabrielle nodded in a rapid manner. "Yeah."
"I did too," Xena said, her voice showing much eagerness. "My younger brother got picked on a lot because he was smaller than most boys were his age. His name was Lyceus. I stuck up for him every time."
"It is a dirty job being a sister, but—" Gabrielle started.
"Someone's got to do it," Xena finished.
"You really shouldn't finish my sentences," Gabrielle teased with a giggle.
"Then you should not start them," Xena responded and formed a big smirk on her face.
Borias shook his head. "Women. You just can't stop talking, can you?"
Johnathan grunted when he felt two objects hit his legs. He looked down to see Sam and Darla with their arms wrapped around them. He chuckled while placing his hands on his sides.
"You two little rats couldn't resist grabbing my legs, could you?" Johnathan asked and clicked his tongue twice. "Let's take you two inside for your afternoon snack."
"I will come with you," Gabrielle said, raising her hand.
"Count me in," Xena added.
"Don't leave me out of this," Borias added while rubbing his hands together.
"Okay," Johnathan said as his children let go of him. He took their hands and held them lightly. "Come on."
Johnathan guided Sam and Darla inside. Borias, Xena, and Gabrielle followed them close behind.
00000
Borias, Xena, and Gabrielle sat together at the living room table in the early evening. He was at the head while they were on either side of him. They had water-filled mugs. Gabrielle listened as he told her about his time with the Telaquire Amazons. She looked around the room. It happened to be rather large. The table was rectangular-shaped and had eight chairs around it. Three chairs sat before the fireplace. A bearskin rug lay before it, as did a small square-shaped table.
Gabrielle ran her tongue all over the inside of her mouth. She returned her attention to Borias, who formed his hands in the shape of a bow and arrow. She propped her head up with her elbow. Xena folded her hands and laid them in her lap. She crossed her right ankle over her left one. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
"The warlords fell down like rocks as my men and I hit them with our arrows. Terreis, Ephiny, and the Amazons ran away from them. We cut their bindings loose with our daggers. We returned to the village. Queen Melosa was so grateful to us that she declared we were welcome on Amazon land anytime," Borias said, a small smile crossing her lips.
"It is so neat you got to meet an Amazon tribe. I've heard stories they despise men," Gabrielle replied.
"That is not true. The first Amazons were happily married to their husbands. Most of them, that is. All their men in their village were wiped out in a single battle against barbarians wanting to take over their land. They learned to live without men. They spread out and formed many different tribes. They visit nearby villages to find men to have children with. The sons are sent to live with their fathers. The daughters stay with their mothers to become Amazons. On rare occasions, sons are allowed to stay with their mothers and daughters with their fathers," Borias explained.
"Two reasons would be death and rejection," Xena added.
"It is hard for a parent to bring up children on their own," Gabrielle whispered, sadness lining her voice.
"Mom knows all about that. She took care of three children on her own. I know Toris and Lyceus are grown up now. I imagine them being tall and handsome, especially Lyceus. I was really close to him. We played, fished, and walked together all the time. We kept trying to catch a fish named Solaris in a lake outside of Amphipolis. He always evaded us," Xena said, chuckling to herself.
"I was never one for fishing, but I did look for frogs with Lila a lot. She was my sister. I know she is grown up like your brothers are. I imagine her being small and beautiful," Gabrielle whispered as she laid her arm on the table.
Xena picked up her water and took a tiny sip. She put it down and folded her arms. She laid them on the table.
"When I was eight or nine years old, Lila rescued me from a snow drift. I gave her a rag doll as a reward. I can't help but wonder if she still has it," Gabrielle whispered and pressed her lips together.
"It's hard not knowing if our loved ones are still alive or not," Xena said, giving a shrug.
"It's even harder knowing you will never see some of your loved ones again," Borias muttered, sniffling. "I buried Natassa and Belach in marked graves behind my house in my country. It wasn't long after that I was captured by bandits and sold into slavery. It made me bitter. I accepted my fate as a slave. Xena brought me out of my bitterness by telling me my late wife and son would not want me to be like that."
Gabrielle smiled. "It is good she did that. No one wants to see a former commander in such a way."
"Our conditions may not be ideal, but it did bring us together," Xena said, taking her boyfriend's hand into hers.
"I am shocked Johnathan allows you two to have a place of your own. All the masters I have been with restricted the sexual intimacy of their slaves unless they were married," Gabrielle said.
"He feels we deserve our privacy. He considers it very important," Xena pointed out matter-of-factly.
Borias chuckled in a soft way. "He is the kindest master we could have ever asked for."
"I was a little nervous when he selected me. I did not know what kind of temperament he had. When he spoke to me in a gentle yet firm voice, I relaxed," Gabrielle commented.
"We had similar feelings ourselves," Xena said as she motioned toward him and herself. "You have to keep a watchful eye out at all times. You never know what some people are really like until you've known them for a while."
"You think you've known someone all your life. Then you find you never really knew them at all," Gabrielle whispered, her body shaking somewhat.
Xena nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
Gabrielle picked up her water to take a tiny sip. She put it down before running her fingers through her hair. She laid her hand on the table and proceeded to tap her fingers on it.
"It is funny how slaves can have kind masters one day. Then they have cruel ones the next," Gabrielle admitted. "Some masters even play favorites with their slaves."
"The other slaves here could not care that Borias and I have a place of our own. They are too concerned with doing their assigned tasks. Sometimes, they get distracted seeing us hold hands while we are getting our instructions on what to do. They end up making silly mistakes," Xena said, snickering under breath.
"I've seen men stare at beautiful women while I would shop in town with other slave with my previous masters. They would walk into troughs and fall into water or run into fences and fall into pens," Gabrielle commented, giggling to herself.
"When a man sees a beautiful woman, he cannot help but be enamored by her," Borias pointed out truthfully.
"The same can be said for women when they see handsome men. The difference is they do not run into things as much," Xena murmured and ran her tongue all over the inside of her mouth.
Gabrielle slipped a lock of hair behind her ear. "Women are said to have a sixth sense. They can smell bullshit from a mile away."
"This is especially true for mothers. They can sense their children's spouses are not good people. The trouble is convincing them as such," Borias said and cleared his throat.
Xena snorted. "The most dangerous creature in the world is a mother protecting her young. Never get between a mother and her children."
Borias nodded in agreement. "So true."
Gabrielle stretched her arms above her head. She proceeded to talk about the time she played a prank on Lila.