Once again Gabrielle found herself in Athena's home.
"Please, make yourself at home. I have a spare room for you to use while you're here. And if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I want you to feel comfortable here." Athena said with a smile.
Gabrielle returned the smile with one of her own, though it didn't reach her eyes, which held a deep sadness in them.
"Thank you, I really appreciate everything you're doing for me. I don't know what I would do otherwise." Gabrielle said, her smile fading.
"Honestly, I am very happy to have you here. I know you don't really know me, but I've missed you all these years." Athena told the young woman with a deep sincerity and a hopeful look.
Gabrielle smiled again, "So, um, what should I call you?" She asked, hesitantly.
"Whatever you're comfortable with, there's no pressure here." Athena replied.
Gabrielle nodded. "Thank you."
She walked over and sat heavily, a weary look on her face.
Gabrielle hadn't really had time to process everything that had happened over the course of the last day. She was a little overwhelmed by all that had occurred.
The attack, Terrais dying, becoming an Amazon Princess, discovering she's a demigod, losing her best friend, having her heart broken by that same friend. It was too much. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and hide from the world, from the pain.
Athena interrupted her thoughts.
"I know this has been a very stressful day for you and you must be tired, I'll show you to your room and let you get some rest. We can talk more when you wake up." Athena said, gesturing toward a hallway.
Gabrielle nodded and followed Athena down the hall. She led her to a huge room at the end. It came complete with a large, soft looking bed, a small desk and chair, a private bathing area, and a balcony that had a beautiful view of Olympus.
Gabrielle's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. "It's beautiful, thank you." She said to Athena, who smiled, and said, "You're welcome. I'm pleased that you like it. You'll find a selection of clothing in the cabinets. If you want something that's not in there, just let me know. Get some rest, I'll be here when you wake. Goodnight, Gabrielle."
With a smile and a wave, Athena left her daughter to get some much needed rest.
Gabrielle wandered around the room, taking in her surroundings. The room was spartan, but comfortable. She made her way to the balcony. She stood there for a while admiring the beauty of the scene before her.
With a sad sigh, she headed for the bathing room.
She let the tub fill with water, and stripped out of her clothes. She slid into the tub and sighed as the hot water relaxed tense muscles, reclining against the wall of the tub and laid her head back closing her eyes, letting her mind wander. Her thoughts turned to her best friend, wondering where she was and what she was doing. Her body responded, as it always did when she thought of Xena, with a tightening in her belly and an ache in her groin. She'd had to pleasure herself often while traveling with Xena, her body in a constant state of arousal around her best friend. Right now her body was demanding release from the tension, she began to run her hands over herself, imagining it was Xena.
Her hands found their way to her breasts, massaging the soft flesh, gently pinching her nipples between her fingers. A soft moan escaped her. While one hand continued to play with her breasts, the other was slowly making its way down to her center, where a deep throbbing had begun. Her fingers slipped through her folds, slowly stroking either side of her pulsing mound. She continued this teasing pleasure for a long time, all the while, imagining it was Xena's strong hands and soft tongue giving her such intense pleasure. Finally, she moved her hand down further and slid two fingers inside herself. With her fingers slowly stroking her inner walls, and her palm firmly rubbing her nub, she brought herself over the edge,
calling out the warrior's name as waves of pleasure surged through her.
When she had recovered from the intense orgasm, a deep sadness and longing took hold. She sat up and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Then she broke down and cried, deep aching sobs wracked her body. She didn't know how long she'd sat there, pouring her heart out in tears, but once they had subsided she realized that the water was cool and she was beginning to prune. She quickly finished bathing.
She walked back into the other room and went to the wall of cabinets to find something to wear. She opened the first one and was pleasantly surprised to see several shelves with blank parchment, quills and inks. She would definitely be using those. The next one held several sets of boots, pants, tunics, and belts in a variety of colors. The last one held some simple sleep shifts and under things. She threw on a shift, walked over to the bed and crawled in. She curled up and within moments was sound asleep, the day's events finally catching up with her.
Gabrielle woke slowly, confused at first, not recognizing her surroundings. Then it all came rushing back. Another wave of sadness hit her and she curled into a ball.
The heartbreak and loneliness crushing her, like a weight on her chest.
Gabrielle knew that she couldn't let these feelings keep her from moving forward, she needed to get up and put her life back together. So, she forced herself out of bed and walked over to the cabinets to get dressed.
She pulled out several items and quickly dressed, pleased with the fit and feel of the clothing, which was made in the same fashion as her new Amazon outfit.
Now dressed, she went in search of Athena.
She found her in one of the chairs in the main hall, reading a scroll.
Athena looked up and smiled when Gabrielle walked in. "Did you sleep well? Athena inquired.
Gabrielle returned the smile, "Yes, I did. Thank you."
Athena looked thoughtful for a moment, then waved her hand. The table in front of her filled with an array of food and drink.
"Please, come have some breakfast, you must be starving." Athena said.
Gabrielle's eyes widened in surprise at the amount of food laid out before her. Her smile widened, and she sat in the other chair filling a plate with several items.
"Thank you, this is wonderful." She told the goddess after sampling a few bites.
Athena was pleased with the young woman's enjoyment of the meal. "You're welcome."
"So, what happens now?" Gabrielle asked softly.
Athena regarded the young woman for a moment, "That's up to you. What would you like to happen?" Athena asked, curious to see what Gabrielle had in mind for herself.
"Well, um, I would like to become a warrior."
Gabrielle replied.
"Why not a bard? You have a natural talent for it. You're a very good storyteller. I would imagine the Athens Academy would fall all over themselves to have you." The goddess watched Gabrielle closely for her reaction.
Gabrielle smiled, a blush rising to her cheeks at Athena's words of praise. "Thank you. I thought about becoming a bard. Writing and storytelling is a part of me and I enjoy it, but that's not all I want out of life." Gabrielle's eyes began to shine with an inner light, her voice strong and passionate."I would rather be out there living the adventures, instead of just telling stories about them. I have to follow my heart, and it's telling me to become a warrior, defending and protecting those who are unable to do so for themselves."
Athena gave Gabrielle a wide smile, a look of pride showing on her face.
"Well, let's get your powers restored, then we can begin your training. Artemis and the others should be arriving soon, word spread very quickly here about you. Many of the other gods and goddesses want to welcome you to the family."
With those words, several flashes of light appeared suddenly, followed by several gods and goddesses popping into the large room.
Aphrodite, always the social butterfly, made a beeline for Gabrielle giving her a huge hug. "How is my favorite niece?" Aphrodite released her hold and slipped an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders drawing her close, "I know things with Xena seem bad right now, but don't worry, I have a feeling everything will be alright. If you ever need to talk, just let me know."
Gabrielle smiles, and says, "I will, thanks Aphrodite I appreciate it."
Aphrodite, arm still around Gabrielle's shoulders, leads her over to the waiting group. "We all wanted to come by and see you to tell you how happy we all are to have here."
Getting hugs and kind words from all, Gabrielle was overwhelmed by the warm welcome.
Artemis stepped forward then, and Athena walked up to stand beside her.
"It's time to restore your powers, my child, are you ready?" Athena asks with a smile.
Gabrielle nods, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.
Artemis took one of her hands and Athena took the other.
Gabrielle felt a warmth spread through her, followed by a massive rush of energy. It felt wonderful.
"Wow, that was amazing." Gabrielle said, when they'd released her. Chuckles all around was the response from those present.
After spending some time speaking with each of them, and getting well wishes from all, with promises to visit again soon, each of those present began to flash out. Finally, leaving Athena and Gabrielle alone.
"How are you feeling?" Athena asked, wanting to make sure the day's events weren't too much for the young woman.
"I feel great!" Gabrielle said, enthusiastically.
And she did, she could feel the power of her god half coursing through her. The warm welcome she had received from the other gods made her feel really good too.
Athena chuckled at that. "Wonderful, I'm happy to hear that. How about we give your powers a work out? You will need a little time to adjust to them."
Gabrielle beamed, "Sounds great to me."
"Alright, follow me."
Athena led her down another hallway and into a large empty room.
Athena waved her hand and the room was instantly filled with different types of training equipment.
Gabrielle just stood there, staring, amazed at the variety of items present.
Athena gave her a nudge with her elbow and drew her attention to a set of weights in one corner.
"Come on, let's start with these. We can see how strong you are." The goddess walked over and picked up the heaviest one, holding it out for the young woman to take.
Gabrielle's eyes widened at this. "Um, yeah, I don't think I can lift that, I'm really not very strong."
Athena set the weight back down with a small thud. "I understand why you think that, however, as a demigod you have superior strength, speed, agility, and you will heal faster than regular mortals. Come on and give it a try. You can start with the smaller ones first if you want and work your way up." Athena said, trying to encourage her.
With a doubtful expression, Gabrielle walked over to the smallest one, and to her utter surprise, easily lifted it.
She let out a triumphant yell, which had Athena chuckling.
With more confidence, she went through all the weights, lifting each easily.
"So, how much does the largest one actually weigh?" Gabrielle asked, curiously.
"It's about twice your body weight." The goddess replied.
Gabrielle's jaw dropped, she couldn't believe she was able to lift that much, and easily.
Athena waved her hand again and the original weights disappeared, replaced by even heavier ones.
"Keep going." She said, encouraging the young woman to test her limits.
Gabrielle did, as she moved from weight to weight she started having to put some effort into it, straining a little on the last couple.
"Wow, okay, how much was that?" She asked.
"The largest is roughly four times your body weight." Athena said proudly.
"Four times!" Gabrielle exclaimed. She couldn't believe it.
"Your strength will increase as you build muscle as well, just like other humans." Athena explained.
"So, I'll be able to lift even more?" Gabrielle asked, amazed.
"Yes. Would you like to see how fast you can run?"
Athena asked, with a grin.
Gabrielle chuckled, "Yes, I would."
Athena took her hand and with a flash they were in a field of wild horses.
"These are the fastest horses on the planet. See the stallion over there? I want you to race him. I'm going to give him a little nudge, and when he takes off you try to catch him."
Gabrielle looked at the goddess like she'd grown another head, but said, "Okay. I'll try."
Athena raised her hand and looked over at Gabrielle, "Ready?"
Getting herself set to race, Gabrielle nodded. "Ready."
Athena pointed her finger at the stallion, and he took off. Gabrielle launched herself after him. It didn't take long for her to catch up with the stallion and then they were racing head to head. Gabrielle pushed herself even further and passed him. She could hear him thundering behind her. Finally, he slowed and turned back to his herd. Gabrielle did the same, heading back to where Athena was waiting for her.
She came running over to the goddess, a huge grin on her face. "That was incredible!" Gabrielle said, laughing.
Athena smiled at her, "Yes it was, you can really move. Nice work."
Gabrielle blushed at the praise. "Thank you.
So, what's next?" She asked, enthusiastically.
Athena grinned, pleased to see the young woman happy and excited after the sadness and grief of the day before.
"Well, how about lunch, and then I'll give you a tour of Olympus."
With a huge grin Gabrielle replied, "Yes! I've always wondered what Olympus looked like."
With a wave of the goddess's hand they were gone.