The breaking of a new morning saw little to no improvement in the Conqueror's mood, of whom awoke with a splitting headache as she slowly sat up from her face down, sprawled out position on her bed as she slowly shifted to the edge of the bed and heard the ching of an empty bottle hitting the floor by her feet. She rubbed her aching forehead as she looked down to see a large empty bottle of ale that she had consumed the night before after returning to her room where she then drank until passing out. With a sigh Xena leaned down and picked up the empty bottle and set it on the nightstand by her bed before standing up and shuffling over to the wash bucket that sat on her dresser. The Conqueror stood there for a moment, looking at her reflection in the water taking note of the darkened circles under her eyes that even passing out drunk was apparently not enough to get rid of. A fleeting thought crossed her mind asking why she kept doing this to herself as an answer of "why not" followed almost immediately after. Choosing not to dive any further into the train of thought the Conqueror pushed it into the small space where it usually resided in the back of her mind as she gathered some water into her hands and splashed it onto her face to fully rouse her senses and clear her mind.
ELLE
Your breakfast is here my lord.
Xena came out from a small room connected to her bedroom in a robe after finishing a quick bath as she dried her hair and shot Elle an unhappy look before walking behind a scene to get dressed.
XENA
Leave it on the table and go.
Following the Conqueror's request, Elle placed the tray of food on a table and began walking toward the door when she heard Xena voice from behind the screen as she got dressed.
XENA
Oh and be sure to have someone else come get the tray when I'm done. I don't wanna see your face anywhere around me until I say otherwise.
Elle stopped as she turned back to face the screen that Xena was behind shocked by what she just heard.
ELLE
I'm sorry?
XENA
(Stern tone) You heard me. Now get out.
ELLE
Have I done something to upset you, your lordship?
The Conqueror stuck her head out from behind the screen as she gave her servant an intense glare before speaking.
XENA
(Stern tone) You tell me Elle. Since you seem to know more about what people around here do then I do.
Elle lowered her eyes as she realized what Xena was getting at.
ELLE
I'm sorry my lord. I know I should've told you about Gabrielle's temporary escape before, but she's my friend and...
XENA
(Angry tone) And nothing!
Elle jumped slightly as Xena shouted and came out from behind the screen fully dressed and walked up to her.
XENA
(Angry tone) You work for me. And you just let her walk out of here and didn't bother saying a word about it to anyone.
ELLE
I'm sorry. I tried to stop her from leaving, really.
XENA
Not very hard apparently since you two made it all the way to the Amazon's village.
ELLE
Well it's not as though I could physically stop her.
XENA
(Angry tone) But someone else could have! And yet you still said nothing!
ELLE
(Quiet/ slightly scared tone) I didn't wanna get Gabrielle in trouble.
XENA
(Angry tone) And I suppose that's also why you didn't say anything about your little outing with her after the two of you were sent back.
ELLE
(Quiet/ slightly scared tone) Yes my lord. I'm sorry, I should have told you.
Suddenly before Elle know what was happening she found herself being grabbed by the front of her dressed and getting lifted off the floor as the Conqueror yanked her up to eye level with her.
XENA
(Angry tone) You're damn right you should've! And why you thought that keeping your little friends secret was more important than doing your job I'll never know because I'm not that fucking stupid!
ELLE
(Scared tone) Please, my lord. I'm sorry.
Frightened, Elle began to try wiggling out of Xena's grasp. She knew full well that more often than not Xena's temper would get the better of her. And based on the fact that she could still smell the alcohol on the woman that she had consumed from the night before, it was likely that it was still in her system and possibly imparting her judgment. Leaving Elle to hope that the Conqueror was clear-headed enough to be reasoned with as she silently contemplated whether or not she should call for help.
ELLE
(Scared tone) I'm sorry that Gabrielle got taken away with the Amazon's. If I had known it would become an issue I would have told you about us meeting them beforehand right away, honest.
With a scowl on her face Xena shoved Elle away as she let the young woman go, causing Elle to drop to the floor as she looked up at the Conqueror who walked over to the door.
XENA
(Stern tone) I don't give a damn about that girl being gone. And the fact that you think that's the issue here tells me that you obviously don't know nearly as much as you think you do.
The Conqueror turned to look at her servant.
XENA
(Stern tone) It's your recklessness that I take issue with. Because at the end of the day that's what lead to my losing a very powerful ally. And at a time when I can't afford to take on new enemies.
Elle looked down as she remained seated on the floor.
ELLE
Forgive me my lord. If I had known this would happen...
XENA
(Angry tone) I don't wanna hear your excuses. Just get out of my sight.
Xena turned and moved toward her study as Elle stood up, not being able to help but feel responsible for Xena's current mood and wished that she could do something about it as she too missed her friend.
ELLE
I...
Hearing that Elle was still there only served to anger the Conqueror further as she abruptly turned around and yelled at her young servant.
XENA
(Angry tone) I said get out!
Never having the Conqueror's wrath directed right at her before, Elle suddenly found herself too stunned to move as her inaction caused Xena's anger to rise further as she stormed over to the young woman and grabbed her rather roughly by her arm as she ignored the painful cry that Elle let out as she forcibly escorted her to the door and shoved her out of the room before slamming the door behind her. The young woman stood outside the room for a moment as she rubbed her upper arm where Xena had grabbed her feeling a bit shaken as the Conqueror had never put her hands on her or gotten so angry with her before. She then walked away from the room as for the first time she realized just why Gabrielle and so many others who knew the Conqueror could still fear her.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) Why is it that no one seems to listen to me anymore?
The Conqueror walked over to the table where her food had been set and grabbed a piece of already sliced bread and began eating it as she went about continuing to get ready for the day. Once finished, and with no immediate matters to attend to she then left her quarters and idly wandered around the keep for a while before finding herself down in the dining hall. Uncertain of what exactly brought her there, Xena stood there for a moment before her eyes fell on the seat that Terreis had been sitting in when she was shot with the arrow that lead to her death not long after. Scowling at the thought of the events of that day, a thought suddenly crossed Xena's mind that she found herself unable to ignore. The thought being that even with all the guards that Xena had, how was it that Terreis's killer had been able to evade being detected and escape? It shouldn't have been possible. Xena was certain that no one would have been able to sneak into the keep, set up such an elaborate attack and then get out unnoticed. And yet that's just what had appeared to have happened. The key word of that being appeared Xena thought as she began walking around the room with the sense that something about the whole situation beginning to feel more and more off sank in. And though the keep had been searched up and down before the Amazons had left, nothing of use for catching the culprits responsible for the attack had turned up. And given the fact that Melosa was likely convinced that it was someone from within the keep or someone who had snuck in, it made sense that she would want to get her people away from there as quickly as possible. Not to mention that she was grieving and wanted to bring her daughter's body home to deal with. But Xena on the other hand knew that it couldn't have been someone who worked for her. No one in the keep would have been that foolish. Would they?
XENA
(Thinking to herself) Maybe if I retrace what was happening during that dinner I can figure out something.
Walking around the area, Xena mentally went through the whole dinner and the chaos that followed. And as she walked she found herself by the chair that Terreis had been sitting in and though already knowing the direction that the arrow had to have come from, for the sake of covering all of her bases, the Conqueror pulled out the chair and sat down. Then after doing some quick mental adjusting for the difference in their hight, Xena found where the arrow had hit Terreis on her own body that would be a little lower on her and after doing some quick mental calculating for the position that the arrow entered Terreis's body, Xena followed an invisible trajectory line upwards to the raptors and after taking note of where about the shot must have come from, she stood up and briskly walked out of the room, passing by Leonidas on the way who casually questioned what she was doing.
XENA
Getting to the bottom of my Amazon problem.
They brief, cryptic reply was all Xena said as she disappeared around a corner to continue her investigation as Leonidas stood there wondering if he should prepare for another war.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) It came from up here. I'm certain of it. But...
The Conqueror stood looking around the area that she had determined that the arrow that had killed Terreis had been fired from.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) This whole area has already been searched and like everywhere else nothing was found.
She let out an irritated growl, feeling stumped as she silently questioned why she was even still trying to solve the Amazon's murder anyway.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) What am I doing up here? I have better things to do than play investigator for a murder that has nothing to do with me. Come on Xena, you have to focus on Draco and Ares.
Pushing the thoughts of Terreis's death aside, Xena turned to return to her study as she took a couple steps toward her quarters but stopped when something under her boot felt odd. Xena looked down and stepped back before placing one foot forward again as though she were walking and felt the floorboard shift slightly. Finding it slightly odd but thinking that it could've just been natural wear and tear on the building, Xena stood there for a moment as she looked around when the beams that ran across the ceiling caught her eye noticing that a small section above her head had multiple scuff marks as though they had been being walked or crawled on. But why? And by who? Both questions that Xena was now determined to find the answers to as she hopped up onto a small table that sat in the hallway and jumped up as high as she could and grabbed onto the beam. Hanging from the ceiling, the Conqueror then pulled herself up. Though what would normally be nothing for her, turned out to be more difficult than expected as her lack of strenuous activity due to the injury to her chest had taken its toll as Xena huffed and sat straddling the beam after getting up onto it.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) How did I let myself get this out of shape so quickly? I'm gonna have to do something about that.
Moving on Xena stood up on the beam and looked down to see that if she walked out a little further she had very easy access to the whole dinning room. She then looked around and took note that there were a whole series of beams that stretched across the length of the room and scowled as she silently admonished herself for not having thought of something so obvious sooner as she found the spot that lined up perfectly with the angle of which Terreis had been hit.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) Of course they were in the raptures. How didn't I think of that sooner? I bet those bastards were already gone before we even began looking for 'em.
The Conqueror growled to herself as she turned around as she returned the way she came and climbed down from the beam. And as she dropped slightly to the floor, the Conqueror felt the floorboard shift again as she landed and looked down to see the board had popped up slightly when she landed as if it wasn't even nailed down. Finding that highly suspicious, Xena crouched down and found that the nails had in fact appeared to have been removed. Now somewhat irritated that someone had vandalized her home, the Conqueror reached down and easily lifted and set the floorboard aside before returning her attention to the new opening in her floor. Xena sifted through the strawthat was used for both insulation and increased stability. Though unsure of what exactly she was searching for it didn't take long for Xena to locate it as she unceremoniously a bow along with several arrows that had clearly been hidden there. And as Xena picked up a couple of the arrows to get a better look at them, a shutter ran down her spine as she instantly recognized the pattern of the arrows as being Amazon made. It was then that Xena realized that Terreis's killer hadn't been someone who snuck into the keep at all, but had been allowed in with the rest of the Amazons. Because those responsible for the attack and death of Terreis were in fact the deceased princess' own people. A discovery that Xena cursed herself for not seeing sooner at there had been plenty of other arrows scattered around the room. But due to the chaos of the attack followed by the tense disagreement with Melosa over Gabrielle, Xena's attention had been elsewhere as Xena deduced that the arrows from the scene must've already been replaced with regular ones by the time the investigation began. But as Xena stood there bitterly cursing the culprits' ability to pull one over on her, another thought hit her as she realized that the ones who were responsible for killing one of their own were the very same people that Gabrielle had left the keep with. And was set to bear the same title that Terreis held and had passed on to her. And without stopping to think about it any further, Xena hurried off.
LEONIDAS
You're wearing your armor.
Xena was briskly moving through the halls now equipped with her full armor and weapons as Leonidas stepped out of a room that she happened to be walking by.
XENA
Ready the men immediately.
Xena continued walking as she gave out the order as her lieutenant quickly followed her as a result.
LEONIDAS
My lord, you still aren't completely healed. You know the healers still don't advise you traveling. Are you sure it's wise for you to head out like this?
XENA
Those healers don't know anything. Just do as you're told and get ready.
LEONIDAS
Then am I to assume that Draco has finally made his next move?
XENA
Nope.
LEONIDAS
Then what is it?
Xena glanced over at her lieutenant as they continued walking and told him exactly where they were going.
XENA
I have some unfinished business to settle with a certain group of Amazons.
Leonidas didn't say anything as he could see the seriousness in the Conqueror's eyes and did as previously commanded and went ahead to gather together a large number of soldiers that soon after rode out of the keeps gates behind the Conqueror as they rode through the snow that had been falling since before dawn toward Melosa's village. And as they ride Xena found herself again silently questioning why she was doing this as she contemplated turning back but instead continued onward as something deep down kept telling her to keep going without fully understanding why.
EPHINY
It's time, Gabrielle. Are you ready?
Hearing Ephiny's voice from outside, Gabrielle took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves about the ceremony that was about to take place to officially bring her into the tribe as she stood up from her seat and answered the door.
GABRIELLE
As ready as I'll ever be.
Ephiny stood in the doorway as she looked at Gabrielle who was fully dressed in Amazonian clothing as Ephiny noticed the uncertainty in her voice.
EPHINY
You're sure you wanna do this?
GABRIELLE
Yeah. Just nervous about what to expect is all. This Amazon stuff is still new to me.
EPHINY
Don't worry Gabrielle, it's not anything that I'm certain you can't learn.
Ephiny gave Gabrielle a friendly smile.
EPHINY
Remember, Terreis choose to pass her rite of caste on to you and from what I heard queen Melosa already vouchedfor your ability with the Conqueror. So I'm sure that with time you'll find your way to becoming a fine Amazon and addition to our tribe.
Gabrielle smiled in return.
GABRIELLE
Thanks Ephiny. It means a lot to hear you say that.
Her face returned serious.
GABRIELLE
I just hope everyone else here feels the same.
EPHINY
Gabrielle I may not be in any kind of leadership position, but I've seen Melosa rule very effectively and one of the things I've seen, and you'll soon learn is if you put in the work and show that you're committed to this, people will eventually take notice and recognize that. Though that doesn't mean that you'll always be able to please everyone. That's not only part of ruling over our people but just a part of life in general. You understand?
GABRIELLE
Yeah.
EPHINY
Good. Now. I think you should probably get out there. The whole village is waiting on you.
GABRIELLE
Oh... right. I guess making them wait out in the cold wouldn't be a very good way to start things off as part of the tribe, would it?
So with that, Ephiny escorted Gabrielle outside to her initiation ceremony into the tribe. A ceremony that included some singing, chanting, music and dancing. All of which Gabrielle watched with great interest as she looked to learn as much as she could about her new people. After some of the dancing and chanting took place, the woman grew silent as they gathered before the queen's throne and Melosa rose from where she had been seated and addressed the village woman before her.
MELOSA
My sister's. We gather here today to welcome a new face into our tribe. A young woman who was not only granted passage among our people but has been gifted the title of princess by Terreis, my late daughter who after making an attempt to protect her, passed her rite of caste on to this young woman before she left us to go on to the other side. And while we may not fully understand Terreis's reasoning, I trust my daughter's judgment and know that she must have seen something in this young woman that told her that she could be a suitable successor for her title and potentially one day my own. So please join me in welcoming our new Amazon, sister and heir to the throne, Gabrielle.
The crowd cheeredas Melosa motioned to Gabrielle, who stepped forward as previously instructed before tuning to walk over to Melosa and taking a knee before the Amazon's queen. Who was very soon to be her queen as well.
MELOSA
Gabrielle. Do you hearby swear your loyalty and service to the people here before you as well as all the women who you now will call your fellow Amazons and sisters?
GABRIELLE
Yes.
MELOSA
Do you swear to stand side by side with these women as we strive for a strong and prosperous Amazon nation?
GABRIELLE
Yes.
MELOSA
And as the new princess of the Amazons and thus heir to the queen's throne, do you vow to uphold the Amazon law and accept that someday the honor and burden of ruling over our people will fall to you?
GABRIELLE
Yes.
MELOSA
Then rise and take your new place at my side Gabrielle. For you are now one of us. A group of strong, brave and powerful women known as the Amazons.
Gabrielle stood up and stepped aside as she turned to face the crowd that Melosa then addressed as she stood up.
MELOSA
My sister's, its now official. So may I now officially introduce to you all the newest member of our tribe and your new princess and future queen of the Amazons, Gabrielle.
Melosa gestured to Gabrielle who waved awkwardly at the cheeringtribal women in the crowd as the Amazon queen then proceeded to raise her first in the air as she spoke to the crowd once again.
MELOSA
To a strong Amazon nation.
CROWD
To a strong Amazon nation.
The crowd of women also raised their fist high as they cheered, and Gabrielle stood looking out at the crowd in awe that they were all cheating for her as she smiled and raised her own fist in solidarity with the people that she was now a part of. A people that though all appeared friendly that night as the village celebrated Gabrielle's entry into tribe with lots of singing and dancing around a large bonfire,all too soon would Gabrielle receive a very harsh awakening to the notion that being welcomed by everyone as the future ruler of their people couldn't have been any further from the truth. A very brutal reality that Gabrielle would learn as her new place among the Amazons threatened to be very shortly lived. As did her very life unless the plot that had already been set in motion could somehow be stopped before it was too late.
TO BE CONTINUED...