New Xena Fic: "In the Valley of Disregard" - Chapter 3
::knocks::
::looks around::
Anyone remember this fic? It's been a tough year in Real Life, folks. This chapter was actually done about two weeks ago, but then my kid landed in the hospital. Like I said, tough year. I'm hoping things will be smoothing out a bit now ::knocks on wood and looks up nervously::
Hope any of you still reading enjoy this installment.:)
Disclaimer: This all belongs to Renaissance Pictures and Universal. I wish I could say it was all mine. Truly I do. But I'm just borrowing this wonderful world with all due respect.
Title: In the Valley of Disregard
Author: LadyRowan
Rating: Mature
Spoilers: Through "When Fates Collide"
Categories: Angst, hurt/comfort, multiple realities, Xena/Gabrielle, hints of Xena/Ares UST
Many beta thanks to my ever so patient betas - Teddy E and lexx223 (and triciabyrne1978 for trying again LOL)
IN THE VALLEY OF DISREGARD
by
Lady Rowan
Copyright (c) 2009
Chapter 3:
Two months maybe? Something like that. We hadn't been travelling together long. Xena was feeling me out, feeling us out, adjusting to the notion that she might have someone she could call a friend. I don't think she wanted to allow herself to toy with the belief that I might not vanish. That I might truly mean it when I said she wasn't alone.
We were tentatively warming to one another, yet the newness remained.
It was such an unexpected nightmare after a quiet and comfortable day. The most vivid and real of my life. A great wave of fire and molten lava had washed through my village, leaving nothing but blackness and carnage in its wake. I had stumbled back to the wreckage, after dawdling too long on the road home from my aunt's. I could smell the burned flesh, see the hollow shells of all those I had loved, falling to dust through my fingers.
I woke with tears already hot on my cheeks and almost couldn't breathe through my burning throat. I pushed up onto my arms, pulling at the night air for a clear breath.
The valley was black. The heat of the day had encouraged us to douse the fire before we slept, but the black of night had brought a chill wind that left me feeling exposed and craving shelter.
Xena lay more than an arm's length away, resting on her side, face in my direction.
She had opened her eyes, no doubt at my first sharp movement.
My breath dragged as though I'd been running.
"Hey," she said softly, an alto rumble from the shadows. "You all right?"
I swiped a hand over my face, gave all I could to restoring a bit of my composure.
"Fine. I'm fine." A child of two summers could have pinned that as a lie.
For a long beat Xena was silent and I struggled to slow my tears.
Then she said, "You must be...cold. If you come over here we could share...both blankets."
I breathed for a moment. At least five things crossed my mind to say, but I seemed unable to push the words across my lips.
I gathered my disheveled blanket into trembling arms and crawled the distance between us. Xena's hands moved in the shadows, taking the blanket from my arms and deftly spreading it across our legs. Then she settled back onto her bedroll, still on her side with an arm folded beneath her head.
I tentatively sank onto the soft blanket beside her, and felt her settle the top cover over my shoulders.
Then her arm came to rest across my midriff.
Protective. Strong. Tender.
She spread her hair up away from her neck, letting long strands spill across plush grass. I did the same and our hair tangled together.
She drew a deep breath, and on the exhale said softly. "I get bad dreams, too. It'll fade in the morning."
I could only nod.
Her voice was like heat on my ear, the breath of her words sending gooseflesh down my neck.
My heart pounded blood against my temples and the metal to my flesh burned like ice.
Xena's body was warm and tight against me. The most familiar feeling in the world, yet the lines and curves were askew, the rhythms foreign and out of synch.
A sharp knee to the back of my thigh told me I was too slow to reply.
I sucked at air that seemed too thin and forced my voice. "I was...I wasn't--AAH!"
She snapped hard on my shoulder and let the blade pierce just enough to sting. "Lie to me again, Amazon, and I slice your throat right here. This town's full of the scum-of-Greece. No one will notice one more body." It was a partial lie and I knew it. This was a pretty quiet village, but many port towns were just what she described. A calculated lie that would have worked on a newcomer.
"All right! All right," I breathed, "I was following you. I'm sorry, I just--"
"Who do you work for? I thought Amazons kept to their own."
"I'm not really an Amazon. I mean, I am, or I was, but...I don't, I don't live with my tribe. I travel alone."
She gave a harsh laugh. "Pissed 'em off, did ya?"
I let go a stifled breath. "Something like that."
"So, back to my first question -- why are you following me?"
Talking is supposed to be my gift. But honestly, if all hell hadn't descended upon us at that moment, I have no idea if I ever would have talked my way out of her arms alive.
There were seven men. Two at each end of the alley and three dropping from the rooftops above.
"You filthy pirates! Dare to humiliate my brother!" I could only guess someone had seen what Xena and her men had done at the cliffs, brought word to those waiting in town and this was their attempt at vengeance.
Xena released her hold on me as the attackers descended, and we turned in synchrony to face our assailants. None were skilled fighters, but they were wild and well-armed and dangerous if only for their inexperience and passion. The first man came at Xena swinging a heavy mace, and after a quick dip to save her head, she rose and sliced the man's throat with the knife that moments ago had been pressed to my neck. The sight sent a wave of nausea thick in my throat. Such ease to the flick of her blade, the set of her jaw was one I had seen only in the darkest of battles. The hate in her eyes flared too quickly from stillness, over nothing but a simple villager. My moment's revulsion nearly left the men closing in on me with the upper hand. I snapped into to action, sais in hand, and made quick work of my assailants. A kick to the chest, an uppercut with the blunt end of my weapon. The third man, more nimble than the others, got a hard elbow to my chin before I brought him to his knees. The impact momentarily blurred my visions and rang in my ears.
I shook off the fuzziness and aimed a sharp kick to his jaw to bring him to the ground, all the while struggling to keep a solid eye on Xena as we moved. A kick to the man's ribs silenced his shouted threats, and I realized it must have been his brother at the docks. A momentary wave of guilt and pain washed through my stomach.
Xena moved like an animal. Foregoing weapons to fight with her hands. Her hair flew wild and dangerous., longer than I had ever seen it. Her silks fluttered in the wind like her pirate's sails. There was no chakram, I realized with a vague sense of disorientation. Her sword remained sheathed, and she knocked out one of the men simply by slamming her head into his.
I stood by to help if needed, but as I watched, the last of Xena's attackers committed the fatal error of diving toward her midriff with a knife. A cat-like growl rumbled from Xena's throat as she grabbed the man's shoulders, whipped him around, hooked his head in the crook of her arm and snapped his neck.
The lifeless villager slid from her arms to slump in the dirt, and even as his head hit the red clay wall of the bar, I saw the flicker of movement. An eighth man. He appeared like a ghost out of a niche in the wall, blade in hand, ready to stab Xena in the back. My reaction didn't wait on rational thought, didn't take into account time or place or the balance of timelines woven and untangled. I acted. Fighting beside Xena as I always had and always will. With the intuitive comfort of indrawn breath, I hurled my sai across the alleyway and pinned the man in the chest.
The last man clutched at the wound, blood pouring in a rush down his darkly tanned hand, splattering his simple linen clothes, then he collapsed to the ground as Xena whirled, all purple silks and raven hair, absorbing everything that had happened.
Blue eyes darted to catch mine, the strength of her gaze nearly pushing me against the wall. All I could do was muster a sad smile.
I murdered a nameless villager for nothing more than protecting his town from pirates.
The question screamed from Xena's gaze.
Oh, Xena. If only you knew what I'd do for you.
*****
The remnants of the village's measly home guard scrambled to their feet, injured limps and broken bodies leaving uneven drags in the dirt as they fled the scene. Xena's eyes pierced through my skin as I watched the last of our attackers disappear across the square. Staring after the men far longer than was needed, I gathered myself to face her scrutiny.
The rush of the battle was easy. The fallout much less so. I almost laughed at the irony. When had I started to think like Xena?
I could delay no longer.
Her pale eyes were narrowed against the brilliant sun, yet she was soaking in every detail, mind calculating at lightning speed. I was breathless from the fight, heart racing. Xena had fought as hard as I, harder, yet she hardly seemed winded. The Xena I knew was stronger than any human had a right to be. I couldn't imagine that in her younger years her stamina had been even greater. Her fighting style had changed. So many openings I had expected her to take, opportunities missed, techniques unmastered. The Xena I knew would never have missed the eighth man. I felt like the floor was tilting, the world shifting on Atlas's shoulders. How was I the seasoned warrior, evaluating Xena's fighting style? Even this Xena was out of my league, a threat to all who entered her space. But she was not yet the near infallible legend I knew she was destined to become.
My throat turned dry and I swallowed hard as Xena's tongue slipped out to moisten the corner of her mouth, to taste the thin line of blood where she had split her lip in the fight. "You helped me," she said simply.
I nodded. "I have no reason to want you hurt."
"But you have reason to want me alive?" Her eyebrow rose with her posture and danced a shiver down my spine.
"I have reason to want to talk to you. That's easier if you're alive."
Talking is my gift. She had told me this a dozen times.
Xena held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. I was almost painfully drawn to the smudge of dirt and blood along the line of her jaw. I wanted to reach out and wipe it away. I wanted to brush my arm against hers and ask, "Are you okay?"
Xena dabbed at her bloody lip with the side of her hand and said simply, "Let's get inside."
I swallowed again and tried to breathe. I retrieved my sai from the man's chest with a sickening squelch, and followed in Xena's footstep.
*****
"Those aren't Amazon weapons," Xena said with a nod toward the sais now back in my leg holsters. She pulled open the door of the bar and let me pass. She didn't want me at her back. The interior of the building was blindingly dim after the light outside. Xena gestured me toward the rowdy group of her men gathered at the wide table in the corner of the room.
"No," I replied as we walked, "I picked them up on my travels north of Rome." I opted for honesty wherever I could. Lies are most effective wrapped in truths.
Xena's head snapped my direction at the mention of Rome, and I expected the instant coldness, the harshness that cinched her muscles at the mention of all things Roman. All things Caesar. But all I found in her eyes was curiosity; interest. "You've been to Rome?" She spoke like a young girl entranced by adventure. Like somene I used to be.
I nodded and a hesitant smile curled my lips. "A few times, yes."
A wistful smile came to me in return. "I'd love to see Rome," she said softly before her attention turned to her men.
Marcus was the first to lift his eyes from his meal, and his satisfied smile vanished with one look at Xena. "Zeus, Xena, what happened to you? I thought you were in the bathroom..."
She brushed off his concern with a wave of her hand, and gestured for him to scoot over on the heavy wooden bench to make room for herself and for me. She pointed toward a thin, fair-haired man across the table. "Heron, go track down Poleneus, will ya? He may have run into some trouble, too."
The man nodded and vaulted nimbly from the bench. "Got it," he said and made his way toward the door.
Xena and I slid into our seats, and Xena took a hunk of bread off Marcus's plate and began chewing enthusiastically. The men had fallen silent with our arrival, and I was uncomfortably aware of their unwavering stares at my person.
"Who's your guest, Xena?" one of them prompted, a rotund man with a dirty beard and thick fingers. His grip tightened and loosened on the fork in his fist.
Xena turned to the man with a deadpanned expression and chewed a few moments longer before saying, "Renegade Amazon, apparently." She shifted her weight on the bench and turned to face me again, lifting her knee as she turned and letting it rest against my bare thigh in our cramped quarters.
I fought to keep my expression placid and my breath steady. She smelled a little the same and a little foreign all at once and there was a trace of energy radiating off her skin that I hadn't felt in a long long time. Argo doesn't like me skirt's too long Xena don't leave me in another village what's a chakram talked to Ares I can't believe you would ever hurt anyone Xena take me with you take me with you take me with you.
"...says she wants to talk to me," Xena finished, and I realized I'd lost the thread. Xena's eyes sparkled with a mischievous light as she licked a bit of butter off her finger. "So why not hear what the lady has to say. After all, she did save my life."
"What?" Marcus's voice was a mix of indignation and concern.
Xena tossed a half glance over her shoulder. "Some local lugs in the alley a few minutes ago. I missed one, she didn't." Xena kept her eyes on me, pulled her jaw to the side a bit as she considered me, the latest twist in her life.
I took a breath as if to speak, to tell her I just got lucky, to try to weave my tale, explain my presence, but before I could form a word, she said, "But first, food. I'm starved."
"As if you're not having your fill of mine," Marcus grumbled under his breath.
Xena curled her lip at him, and waved down the barmaid. The girl who approached couldn't have been more than 15 summers old, laden heavily with mugs and plates, her brown hair falling in loose tendrils from its leather tie. The wary look in her hazel eyes and the tremor in her voice as she said, "What can I get you?" prompted me to take closer note of my surroundings. The room was relatively full, impressive business for such an early hour, and I wondered if we were part of the attraction. Few patrons were eating. Most were eyeing the strangers gathered at the corner table, exchanging meaningful glances and nodding to one another.
I caught Xena glancing casually over her shoulder and surveying the threat level without appearing to do so. Her only reaction was a small sniff as she turned back to the table, seeming to decide the desire for food outweighed the risk. She proceeded to dictate her order to the nervous barmaid, who nodded acknowledgement and called Xena ma'am to an answering snort of derision.
"You want something?" Xena asked bluntly.
I startled a bit at the direct address, having slipped into quiet observation. I felt outside of this time and place, like a walker in a lucid dream. "Oh, um...," I cleared my throat and addressed the girl in a softer voice than Xena had offered. My fleeting smile was returned in kind and a soft flush warmed the girl's freckled skin. "Just some warm gruel if you have it? And some broth."
"Certainly, ma'am," the girl said gratefully, and she hurried away.
When I looked back at my companions, Marcus had dampened a cloth in his drink and was trying to clean Xena's bloodied lip. She tolerated the attentions for a moment, then hissed in a mixture of pain and anger and shoved him off, snatching the cloth to continue the job herself.
The rest of the food arrived before much more could be said, and our party fell into silence as we ate our fill. I realized I was surprisingly hungry and more capable of eating than I had expected. The only interruption came in the return of Heron with the boy Xena had left behind. I couldn't miss the gentle crinkle at the corner of Xena's eyes as she caught sight of the boy. "Handled them, didja?" she asked with a conspiratorial grin.
The boy nodded. "Never saw me," he said proudly. Xena reached across and tousled his sandy hair. "Good boy," she said, and flicked a hunk of cheese onto his plate.
When our stomachs had been filled, and a new round of drinks poured, Xena pulled herself upright, and I could feel the power wafting off of her. This was why people followed her, why she was who she was for light or dark; Xena exudes an aura like no other. She is energy in motion. Xena leaned back against Marcus's shoulder, propping a forearm across the back of the bench. The movement brought her into a sun streak and the brilliant light reflected in her blue eyes like jewels.
The fire within her was equally bright. I felt the thoughts racing. The flames. The danger.
She took another swig of ale and dropped her mug to the table. "So you wanted to talk to me," she said evenly. "Talk."
I pushed away the last of my broth and drew a deep breath. My stomach burned and fluttered as the moment of truth arrived without warning.
I lifted my gaze to meet hers. "Well..." I steeled my jaw, brought every bit of Amazon Queen courage I could muster to my carriage, "I was hoping to travel with you for a while." That's in Thrace isn't it?...study maps and things...Take me with you...
Xena's eyes widened and a dark brow slowly rose beneath scattered bangs. Up close I could see all the details of her narrow braids, the strands of beads mingled with raven hair. Her style was tousled from the fight, but beautiful nonetheless. Xena was always beautiful. "You want to travel with us? Why?"
I took a moment to consider my words, decide on my angles. This was no easier the second time around. "I've heard about you. I think I could learn a lot. I have a journey of my own ahead, but...in the mean time you have resources that could help me."
Xena narrowed her eyes and regarded me with bemused consideration. "You're honest, Amazon, I'll give you that. Brave or stupid?"
"My name is Gabrielle," I said, ignoring the remainder of her words.
My unwillingness to bend to her intimidation intrigued her, I could see it. Xena had never been one to pass up a challenge, and I was counting on that now. "Gabrielle..." She stretched the name out across her tongue, and I couldn't stop the shiver that danced down my midriff and quivered between my legs. I hoped my outward calm would hold. "Gabrielle. You want to travel with us. What makes you think we'd want you? What do you have to offer us but an extra mouth to feed?" She fixed me with that blinding gaze and my mouth turned uncomfortable dry. Countless times I had seen her manipulate, bend, intimidate with the power of her stare, always the one standing beside her, admiring her confidence, her powers. I had never truly imagined how it would feel from the receiving end. "You say we can help you. How can you help us?"
"I can fight." I started with the simple and obvious. I needed to feel out her weak points, pin down her needs. What did I possess that she desired?
The heavy-set man I'd heard Marcus call Gennadios snorted at my words. "We don't need another fighter."
But Xena spoke over her shoulder, words terse and low. "No, she's good." Then she turned back to me and gave a sideways smile that brought only darkness to her eyes. "But not good enough. What else ya got?"
"I have some healing skills..." I tried tentatively.
She flashed her eyes. "So do I," she said with mock drama. There was a feistiness, a playfulness in her that left me in wonder. So much light tangled in the dark. "You gotta come up with something better than that." Before I could speak she turned her attention back to the boy. "Poleneus." She unhooked a coin pouch from her belt and slid it to him across the table. "You remember where I told you to meet my contact? What you have to say?" she asked, and the boy nodded earnestly.
"All of it, Xena."
"Stop by the bar, buy yourself some food to eat as you go. The rest of the dinars are for the exchange. Go now."
"I'll take care of it," the boy said, and he slipped out of his seat and toward the bar.
Xena turned back to me and gestured grandly around the table. "Everyone here has something special to contribute".
I eyed the somewhat motley assemblage. "Oh, really?" I inquired, letting my words drizzle skepticism.
Xena played along. She gestured toward the slender, fair-haired man who had fetched Poleneus. "Heron. Best archer I've met. Almost as good as I am," she added with a teasing glance in his direction that was meant with gentle laughter.
"Gennadios," Xena continued, nodding toward the thick-fingered man, "is rather freakishly strong. Comes in ever so handy at times, even if his finer skills are lacking."
"Hey!"
Xena brushed off his protests and moved on. "Praxiteles, here...he's just about the fasted damned runner in all of Greece. Can't beat that," she finished with a smile.
I took all of this in, nodding and appraising the unlikely group.
"And Marcus here," Xena jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, "is a rather brilliant swordsman...among his other skills..." She tossed a lascivious look over her shoulder that was met by welcoming and heated chocolate eyes.
Glancing away with a vague blush on my cheeks, I caught sight of Poleneus as he started toward the exit door with his pouch of food from the bar.
"And what special skill does he have to contribute?" I asked, nodding toward the boy's retreating figure.
Xena grinned and her eyes lit from within. "Poleneus? Why he's the finest pickpocket in Greece."
I played along. "He is. Really..."
Xena cocked her head. "Mmm hmm. Better keep an eye on your medicine satchel."
"My--" My hand moved toward the familiar pouch, felt about, then scrambled to locate the worn leather that had been strapped to me just moments ago. "He...hey!" I looked up to find Xena grinning impishly, fully enjoying the scene. "He took my pouch!" I protested, sounding far more childlike and petulant than I had intended.
Xena merely smiled, but she turned and called past my shoulder, "Hey kid!"
Poleneus turned on his heel, looking back toward Xena expectantly. His bright clear face still held a sparkle of innocence that seemed so out of place amongst these hardened men of the road. I was torn between fear for what his future held and gratitude that it was Xena who had picked him up. Even at her worst, I couldn't recall her deliberately hurting a child she had once cared about.
Xena pulled a face at the boy and stretched out her hand.
Poleneus held out his open palms in innocence, then rolled his eyes agreeably and produced my satchel from a deep pocket of his trousers. He tossed it toward Xena with impressive accuracy for the distance. Xena caught the pouch with a throaty chuckle. Then Poleneus winked at me and vanished into the sunlit square.
"Here ya go," Xena drawled, holding out my few remaining possessions without having inspected the contents of the bag. It occurred to me later that her little man would likely report on the details.
I took the satchel and nodded with a less than earnest, "Thanks."
Xena reached for her ale. "Did you have any money in there?"
I eyed her warily, "A bit..."
She tilted her mug my direction. "Better ask for it when he gets back. He'll have it spent before you can blink." She downed the rest of her drink while I stared.
"I can cook!" The words fell out of my mouth completely without my foreknowledge.
Xena lowered her mug and stared for a long beat. She turned and exchanged glances with the rest of her men, then shrugged. "You travel with us for a day. Fix us dinner when we're out in the field tomorrow night. If it's delicious -- you can stay." A teasing flash lit her beautiful features, and she tossed a remaining olive into the air, catching it on her tongue with easy aplomb.
*****
They left the bar just in time. The bodies in the alleyway had been discovered, and there was a dangerous buzz like liquid fire spilling through the town as it sprang to life and motion.
Apparently the mission young Poleneus had been sent to undertake had been the acquisition of horses for the next leg of their journey as well as the retrieval of more supplies from Xena's ship. I didn't know where Xena and her men were going or why, but for now I didn't care. I had saved Xena's life and she was paying a debt no questions asked. Honor among thieves, and I wasn't about to push my luck.
The horses and baggage waited for us a short walk from the eatery, outside the stables east of the square.
"You have everything you need on you?" Xena asked, as she secured her saddle bags to the massive black animal she had claimed for her own.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "I travel light."
"Good," was her simple reply.
The group worked well together, moving in comfortable synchronicity. Apparently, they had been travelling together for some time and by various means. I felt a little at a loss, unsure how I could contribute to the chores or what needed to be done.
Xena was on alert, I recognized the posture. Every muscle in her body was ready, listening, monitoring the movements of the villagers. She wanted us out of there and fast, I understood that. Before I could ask how I might help, the men were mounting their horses and scanning the horizon.
I realized rather belatedly, that I was the only one without an animal of my own. Clearly arrangements had been made before I had entered the picture. Even Poleneus had a horse for his use. I would slow them down on foot.
Xena seemed to fully register this point at the same moment I did. She had swung herself easily onto the restless animal who was now stilling beneath her thighs' solid grip.
Xena gave one last sharp glance around the village square, hair ruffling in the morning's rising wind and pulse throbbing softly in her throat. Then she reached a hand down toward me. "Come on," she said, and there was a yet unheard softness in her voice that shimmered chills down my spine.
I felt I was moving in slow motion as I stretched my own hand upward and locked grip on her forearm. Her dark hair was brilliantly haloed by the pale blue sky above us, and her skin felt warm and firm in my grasp. She cinched her unfailing grip on my arm and lifted me onto her mount like we did it every day. I settle against her back, thigh to thigh and boots brushing boots. For the life of me, in that moment, I couldn't have told anyone if I were in Amphipolis or a seaside village, if I were a child or a woman.
Xena gripped the reins in one hand and kicked the animal to life, setting a wild pace for our exit and letting her men fall into line behind. I wrapped my arms around her midriff, clung to the hard and powerful muscles flexing beneath my touch, and held on for dear life as we flew into the wilderness.
*****
(continued in Chapter 4...)
::looks around::
Anyone remember this fic? It's been a tough year in Real Life, folks. This chapter was actually done about two weeks ago, but then my kid landed in the hospital. Like I said, tough year. I'm hoping things will be smoothing out a bit now ::knocks on wood and looks up nervously::
Hope any of you still reading enjoy this installment.:)
Disclaimer: This all belongs to Renaissance Pictures and Universal. I wish I could say it was all mine. Truly I do. But I'm just borrowing this wonderful world with all due respect.
Title: In the Valley of Disregard
Author: LadyRowan
Rating: Mature
Spoilers: Through "When Fates Collide"
Categories: Angst, hurt/comfort, multiple realities, Xena/Gabrielle, hints of Xena/Ares UST
Many beta thanks to my ever so patient betas - Teddy E and lexx223 (and triciabyrne1978 for trying again LOL)
IN THE VALLEY OF DISREGARD
by
Lady Rowan
Copyright (c) 2009
Chapter 3:
Two months maybe? Something like that. We hadn't been travelling together long. Xena was feeling me out, feeling us out, adjusting to the notion that she might have someone she could call a friend. I don't think she wanted to allow herself to toy with the belief that I might not vanish. That I might truly mean it when I said she wasn't alone.
We were tentatively warming to one another, yet the newness remained.
It was such an unexpected nightmare after a quiet and comfortable day. The most vivid and real of my life. A great wave of fire and molten lava had washed through my village, leaving nothing but blackness and carnage in its wake. I had stumbled back to the wreckage, after dawdling too long on the road home from my aunt's. I could smell the burned flesh, see the hollow shells of all those I had loved, falling to dust through my fingers.
I woke with tears already hot on my cheeks and almost couldn't breathe through my burning throat. I pushed up onto my arms, pulling at the night air for a clear breath.
The valley was black. The heat of the day had encouraged us to douse the fire before we slept, but the black of night had brought a chill wind that left me feeling exposed and craving shelter.
Xena lay more than an arm's length away, resting on her side, face in my direction.
She had opened her eyes, no doubt at my first sharp movement.
My breath dragged as though I'd been running.
"Hey," she said softly, an alto rumble from the shadows. "You all right?"
I swiped a hand over my face, gave all I could to restoring a bit of my composure.
"Fine. I'm fine." A child of two summers could have pinned that as a lie.
For a long beat Xena was silent and I struggled to slow my tears.
Then she said, "You must be...cold. If you come over here we could share...both blankets."
I breathed for a moment. At least five things crossed my mind to say, but I seemed unable to push the words across my lips.
I gathered my disheveled blanket into trembling arms and crawled the distance between us. Xena's hands moved in the shadows, taking the blanket from my arms and deftly spreading it across our legs. Then she settled back onto her bedroll, still on her side with an arm folded beneath her head.
I tentatively sank onto the soft blanket beside her, and felt her settle the top cover over my shoulders.
Then her arm came to rest across my midriff.
Protective. Strong. Tender.
She spread her hair up away from her neck, letting long strands spill across plush grass. I did the same and our hair tangled together.
She drew a deep breath, and on the exhale said softly. "I get bad dreams, too. It'll fade in the morning."
I could only nod.
Her voice was like heat on my ear, the breath of her words sending gooseflesh down my neck.
My heart pounded blood against my temples and the metal to my flesh burned like ice.
Xena's body was warm and tight against me. The most familiar feeling in the world, yet the lines and curves were askew, the rhythms foreign and out of synch.
A sharp knee to the back of my thigh told me I was too slow to reply.
I sucked at air that seemed too thin and forced my voice. "I was...I wasn't--AAH!"
She snapped hard on my shoulder and let the blade pierce just enough to sting. "Lie to me again, Amazon, and I slice your throat right here. This town's full of the scum-of-Greece. No one will notice one more body." It was a partial lie and I knew it. This was a pretty quiet village, but many port towns were just what she described. A calculated lie that would have worked on a newcomer.
"All right! All right," I breathed, "I was following you. I'm sorry, I just--"
"Who do you work for? I thought Amazons kept to their own."
"I'm not really an Amazon. I mean, I am, or I was, but...I don't, I don't live with my tribe. I travel alone."
She gave a harsh laugh. "Pissed 'em off, did ya?"
I let go a stifled breath. "Something like that."
"So, back to my first question -- why are you following me?"
Talking is supposed to be my gift. But honestly, if all hell hadn't descended upon us at that moment, I have no idea if I ever would have talked my way out of her arms alive.
There were seven men. Two at each end of the alley and three dropping from the rooftops above.
"You filthy pirates! Dare to humiliate my brother!" I could only guess someone had seen what Xena and her men had done at the cliffs, brought word to those waiting in town and this was their attempt at vengeance.
Xena released her hold on me as the attackers descended, and we turned in synchrony to face our assailants. None were skilled fighters, but they were wild and well-armed and dangerous if only for their inexperience and passion. The first man came at Xena swinging a heavy mace, and after a quick dip to save her head, she rose and sliced the man's throat with the knife that moments ago had been pressed to my neck. The sight sent a wave of nausea thick in my throat. Such ease to the flick of her blade, the set of her jaw was one I had seen only in the darkest of battles. The hate in her eyes flared too quickly from stillness, over nothing but a simple villager. My moment's revulsion nearly left the men closing in on me with the upper hand. I snapped into to action, sais in hand, and made quick work of my assailants. A kick to the chest, an uppercut with the blunt end of my weapon. The third man, more nimble than the others, got a hard elbow to my chin before I brought him to his knees. The impact momentarily blurred my visions and rang in my ears.
I shook off the fuzziness and aimed a sharp kick to his jaw to bring him to the ground, all the while struggling to keep a solid eye on Xena as we moved. A kick to the man's ribs silenced his shouted threats, and I realized it must have been his brother at the docks. A momentary wave of guilt and pain washed through my stomach.
Xena moved like an animal. Foregoing weapons to fight with her hands. Her hair flew wild and dangerous., longer than I had ever seen it. Her silks fluttered in the wind like her pirate's sails. There was no chakram, I realized with a vague sense of disorientation. Her sword remained sheathed, and she knocked out one of the men simply by slamming her head into his.
I stood by to help if needed, but as I watched, the last of Xena's attackers committed the fatal error of diving toward her midriff with a knife. A cat-like growl rumbled from Xena's throat as she grabbed the man's shoulders, whipped him around, hooked his head in the crook of her arm and snapped his neck.
The lifeless villager slid from her arms to slump in the dirt, and even as his head hit the red clay wall of the bar, I saw the flicker of movement. An eighth man. He appeared like a ghost out of a niche in the wall, blade in hand, ready to stab Xena in the back. My reaction didn't wait on rational thought, didn't take into account time or place or the balance of timelines woven and untangled. I acted. Fighting beside Xena as I always had and always will. With the intuitive comfort of indrawn breath, I hurled my sai across the alleyway and pinned the man in the chest.
The last man clutched at the wound, blood pouring in a rush down his darkly tanned hand, splattering his simple linen clothes, then he collapsed to the ground as Xena whirled, all purple silks and raven hair, absorbing everything that had happened.
Blue eyes darted to catch mine, the strength of her gaze nearly pushing me against the wall. All I could do was muster a sad smile.
I murdered a nameless villager for nothing more than protecting his town from pirates.
The question screamed from Xena's gaze.
Oh, Xena. If only you knew what I'd do for you.
*****
The remnants of the village's measly home guard scrambled to their feet, injured limps and broken bodies leaving uneven drags in the dirt as they fled the scene. Xena's eyes pierced through my skin as I watched the last of our attackers disappear across the square. Staring after the men far longer than was needed, I gathered myself to face her scrutiny.
The rush of the battle was easy. The fallout much less so. I almost laughed at the irony. When had I started to think like Xena?
I could delay no longer.
Her pale eyes were narrowed against the brilliant sun, yet she was soaking in every detail, mind calculating at lightning speed. I was breathless from the fight, heart racing. Xena had fought as hard as I, harder, yet she hardly seemed winded. The Xena I knew was stronger than any human had a right to be. I couldn't imagine that in her younger years her stamina had been even greater. Her fighting style had changed. So many openings I had expected her to take, opportunities missed, techniques unmastered. The Xena I knew would never have missed the eighth man. I felt like the floor was tilting, the world shifting on Atlas's shoulders. How was I the seasoned warrior, evaluating Xena's fighting style? Even this Xena was out of my league, a threat to all who entered her space. But she was not yet the near infallible legend I knew she was destined to become.
My throat turned dry and I swallowed hard as Xena's tongue slipped out to moisten the corner of her mouth, to taste the thin line of blood where she had split her lip in the fight. "You helped me," she said simply.
I nodded. "I have no reason to want you hurt."
"But you have reason to want me alive?" Her eyebrow rose with her posture and danced a shiver down my spine.
"I have reason to want to talk to you. That's easier if you're alive."
Talking is my gift. She had told me this a dozen times.
Xena held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. I was almost painfully drawn to the smudge of dirt and blood along the line of her jaw. I wanted to reach out and wipe it away. I wanted to brush my arm against hers and ask, "Are you okay?"
Xena dabbed at her bloody lip with the side of her hand and said simply, "Let's get inside."
I swallowed again and tried to breathe. I retrieved my sai from the man's chest with a sickening squelch, and followed in Xena's footstep.
*****
"Those aren't Amazon weapons," Xena said with a nod toward the sais now back in my leg holsters. She pulled open the door of the bar and let me pass. She didn't want me at her back. The interior of the building was blindingly dim after the light outside. Xena gestured me toward the rowdy group of her men gathered at the wide table in the corner of the room.
"No," I replied as we walked, "I picked them up on my travels north of Rome." I opted for honesty wherever I could. Lies are most effective wrapped in truths.
Xena's head snapped my direction at the mention of Rome, and I expected the instant coldness, the harshness that cinched her muscles at the mention of all things Roman. All things Caesar. But all I found in her eyes was curiosity; interest. "You've been to Rome?" She spoke like a young girl entranced by adventure. Like somene I used to be.
I nodded and a hesitant smile curled my lips. "A few times, yes."
A wistful smile came to me in return. "I'd love to see Rome," she said softly before her attention turned to her men.
Marcus was the first to lift his eyes from his meal, and his satisfied smile vanished with one look at Xena. "Zeus, Xena, what happened to you? I thought you were in the bathroom..."
She brushed off his concern with a wave of her hand, and gestured for him to scoot over on the heavy wooden bench to make room for herself and for me. She pointed toward a thin, fair-haired man across the table. "Heron, go track down Poleneus, will ya? He may have run into some trouble, too."
The man nodded and vaulted nimbly from the bench. "Got it," he said and made his way toward the door.
Xena and I slid into our seats, and Xena took a hunk of bread off Marcus's plate and began chewing enthusiastically. The men had fallen silent with our arrival, and I was uncomfortably aware of their unwavering stares at my person.
"Who's your guest, Xena?" one of them prompted, a rotund man with a dirty beard and thick fingers. His grip tightened and loosened on the fork in his fist.
Xena turned to the man with a deadpanned expression and chewed a few moments longer before saying, "Renegade Amazon, apparently." She shifted her weight on the bench and turned to face me again, lifting her knee as she turned and letting it rest against my bare thigh in our cramped quarters.
I fought to keep my expression placid and my breath steady. She smelled a little the same and a little foreign all at once and there was a trace of energy radiating off her skin that I hadn't felt in a long long time. Argo doesn't like me skirt's too long Xena don't leave me in another village what's a chakram talked to Ares I can't believe you would ever hurt anyone Xena take me with you take me with you take me with you.
"...says she wants to talk to me," Xena finished, and I realized I'd lost the thread. Xena's eyes sparkled with a mischievous light as she licked a bit of butter off her finger. "So why not hear what the lady has to say. After all, she did save my life."
"What?" Marcus's voice was a mix of indignation and concern.
Xena tossed a half glance over her shoulder. "Some local lugs in the alley a few minutes ago. I missed one, she didn't." Xena kept her eyes on me, pulled her jaw to the side a bit as she considered me, the latest twist in her life.
I took a breath as if to speak, to tell her I just got lucky, to try to weave my tale, explain my presence, but before I could form a word, she said, "But first, food. I'm starved."
"As if you're not having your fill of mine," Marcus grumbled under his breath.
Xena curled her lip at him, and waved down the barmaid. The girl who approached couldn't have been more than 15 summers old, laden heavily with mugs and plates, her brown hair falling in loose tendrils from its leather tie. The wary look in her hazel eyes and the tremor in her voice as she said, "What can I get you?" prompted me to take closer note of my surroundings. The room was relatively full, impressive business for such an early hour, and I wondered if we were part of the attraction. Few patrons were eating. Most were eyeing the strangers gathered at the corner table, exchanging meaningful glances and nodding to one another.
I caught Xena glancing casually over her shoulder and surveying the threat level without appearing to do so. Her only reaction was a small sniff as she turned back to the table, seeming to decide the desire for food outweighed the risk. She proceeded to dictate her order to the nervous barmaid, who nodded acknowledgement and called Xena ma'am to an answering snort of derision.
"You want something?" Xena asked bluntly.
I startled a bit at the direct address, having slipped into quiet observation. I felt outside of this time and place, like a walker in a lucid dream. "Oh, um...," I cleared my throat and addressed the girl in a softer voice than Xena had offered. My fleeting smile was returned in kind and a soft flush warmed the girl's freckled skin. "Just some warm gruel if you have it? And some broth."
"Certainly, ma'am," the girl said gratefully, and she hurried away.
When I looked back at my companions, Marcus had dampened a cloth in his drink and was trying to clean Xena's bloodied lip. She tolerated the attentions for a moment, then hissed in a mixture of pain and anger and shoved him off, snatching the cloth to continue the job herself.
The rest of the food arrived before much more could be said, and our party fell into silence as we ate our fill. I realized I was surprisingly hungry and more capable of eating than I had expected. The only interruption came in the return of Heron with the boy Xena had left behind. I couldn't miss the gentle crinkle at the corner of Xena's eyes as she caught sight of the boy. "Handled them, didja?" she asked with a conspiratorial grin.
The boy nodded. "Never saw me," he said proudly. Xena reached across and tousled his sandy hair. "Good boy," she said, and flicked a hunk of cheese onto his plate.
When our stomachs had been filled, and a new round of drinks poured, Xena pulled herself upright, and I could feel the power wafting off of her. This was why people followed her, why she was who she was for light or dark; Xena exudes an aura like no other. She is energy in motion. Xena leaned back against Marcus's shoulder, propping a forearm across the back of the bench. The movement brought her into a sun streak and the brilliant light reflected in her blue eyes like jewels.
The fire within her was equally bright. I felt the thoughts racing. The flames. The danger.
She took another swig of ale and dropped her mug to the table. "So you wanted to talk to me," she said evenly. "Talk."
I pushed away the last of my broth and drew a deep breath. My stomach burned and fluttered as the moment of truth arrived without warning.
I lifted my gaze to meet hers. "Well..." I steeled my jaw, brought every bit of Amazon Queen courage I could muster to my carriage, "I was hoping to travel with you for a while." That's in Thrace isn't it?...study maps and things...Take me with you...
Xena's eyes widened and a dark brow slowly rose beneath scattered bangs. Up close I could see all the details of her narrow braids, the strands of beads mingled with raven hair. Her style was tousled from the fight, but beautiful nonetheless. Xena was always beautiful. "You want to travel with us? Why?"
I took a moment to consider my words, decide on my angles. This was no easier the second time around. "I've heard about you. I think I could learn a lot. I have a journey of my own ahead, but...in the mean time you have resources that could help me."
Xena narrowed her eyes and regarded me with bemused consideration. "You're honest, Amazon, I'll give you that. Brave or stupid?"
"My name is Gabrielle," I said, ignoring the remainder of her words.
My unwillingness to bend to her intimidation intrigued her, I could see it. Xena had never been one to pass up a challenge, and I was counting on that now. "Gabrielle..." She stretched the name out across her tongue, and I couldn't stop the shiver that danced down my midriff and quivered between my legs. I hoped my outward calm would hold. "Gabrielle. You want to travel with us. What makes you think we'd want you? What do you have to offer us but an extra mouth to feed?" She fixed me with that blinding gaze and my mouth turned uncomfortable dry. Countless times I had seen her manipulate, bend, intimidate with the power of her stare, always the one standing beside her, admiring her confidence, her powers. I had never truly imagined how it would feel from the receiving end. "You say we can help you. How can you help us?"
"I can fight." I started with the simple and obvious. I needed to feel out her weak points, pin down her needs. What did I possess that she desired?
The heavy-set man I'd heard Marcus call Gennadios snorted at my words. "We don't need another fighter."
But Xena spoke over her shoulder, words terse and low. "No, she's good." Then she turned back to me and gave a sideways smile that brought only darkness to her eyes. "But not good enough. What else ya got?"
"I have some healing skills..." I tried tentatively.
She flashed her eyes. "So do I," she said with mock drama. There was a feistiness, a playfulness in her that left me in wonder. So much light tangled in the dark. "You gotta come up with something better than that." Before I could speak she turned her attention back to the boy. "Poleneus." She unhooked a coin pouch from her belt and slid it to him across the table. "You remember where I told you to meet my contact? What you have to say?" she asked, and the boy nodded earnestly.
"All of it, Xena."
"Stop by the bar, buy yourself some food to eat as you go. The rest of the dinars are for the exchange. Go now."
"I'll take care of it," the boy said, and he slipped out of his seat and toward the bar.
Xena turned back to me and gestured grandly around the table. "Everyone here has something special to contribute".
I eyed the somewhat motley assemblage. "Oh, really?" I inquired, letting my words drizzle skepticism.
Xena played along. She gestured toward the slender, fair-haired man who had fetched Poleneus. "Heron. Best archer I've met. Almost as good as I am," she added with a teasing glance in his direction that was meant with gentle laughter.
"Gennadios," Xena continued, nodding toward the thick-fingered man, "is rather freakishly strong. Comes in ever so handy at times, even if his finer skills are lacking."
"Hey!"
Xena brushed off his protests and moved on. "Praxiteles, here...he's just about the fasted damned runner in all of Greece. Can't beat that," she finished with a smile.
I took all of this in, nodding and appraising the unlikely group.
"And Marcus here," Xena jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, "is a rather brilliant swordsman...among his other skills..." She tossed a lascivious look over her shoulder that was met by welcoming and heated chocolate eyes.
Glancing away with a vague blush on my cheeks, I caught sight of Poleneus as he started toward the exit door with his pouch of food from the bar.
"And what special skill does he have to contribute?" I asked, nodding toward the boy's retreating figure.
Xena grinned and her eyes lit from within. "Poleneus? Why he's the finest pickpocket in Greece."
I played along. "He is. Really..."
Xena cocked her head. "Mmm hmm. Better keep an eye on your medicine satchel."
"My--" My hand moved toward the familiar pouch, felt about, then scrambled to locate the worn leather that had been strapped to me just moments ago. "He...hey!" I looked up to find Xena grinning impishly, fully enjoying the scene. "He took my pouch!" I protested, sounding far more childlike and petulant than I had intended.
Xena merely smiled, but she turned and called past my shoulder, "Hey kid!"
Poleneus turned on his heel, looking back toward Xena expectantly. His bright clear face still held a sparkle of innocence that seemed so out of place amongst these hardened men of the road. I was torn between fear for what his future held and gratitude that it was Xena who had picked him up. Even at her worst, I couldn't recall her deliberately hurting a child she had once cared about.
Xena pulled a face at the boy and stretched out her hand.
Poleneus held out his open palms in innocence, then rolled his eyes agreeably and produced my satchel from a deep pocket of his trousers. He tossed it toward Xena with impressive accuracy for the distance. Xena caught the pouch with a throaty chuckle. Then Poleneus winked at me and vanished into the sunlit square.
"Here ya go," Xena drawled, holding out my few remaining possessions without having inspected the contents of the bag. It occurred to me later that her little man would likely report on the details.
I took the satchel and nodded with a less than earnest, "Thanks."
Xena reached for her ale. "Did you have any money in there?"
I eyed her warily, "A bit..."
She tilted her mug my direction. "Better ask for it when he gets back. He'll have it spent before you can blink." She downed the rest of her drink while I stared.
"I can cook!" The words fell out of my mouth completely without my foreknowledge.
Xena lowered her mug and stared for a long beat. She turned and exchanged glances with the rest of her men, then shrugged. "You travel with us for a day. Fix us dinner when we're out in the field tomorrow night. If it's delicious -- you can stay." A teasing flash lit her beautiful features, and she tossed a remaining olive into the air, catching it on her tongue with easy aplomb.
*****
They left the bar just in time. The bodies in the alleyway had been discovered, and there was a dangerous buzz like liquid fire spilling through the town as it sprang to life and motion.
Apparently the mission young Poleneus had been sent to undertake had been the acquisition of horses for the next leg of their journey as well as the retrieval of more supplies from Xena's ship. I didn't know where Xena and her men were going or why, but for now I didn't care. I had saved Xena's life and she was paying a debt no questions asked. Honor among thieves, and I wasn't about to push my luck.
The horses and baggage waited for us a short walk from the eatery, outside the stables east of the square.
"You have everything you need on you?" Xena asked, as she secured her saddle bags to the massive black animal she had claimed for her own.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "I travel light."
"Good," was her simple reply.
The group worked well together, moving in comfortable synchronicity. Apparently, they had been travelling together for some time and by various means. I felt a little at a loss, unsure how I could contribute to the chores or what needed to be done.
Xena was on alert, I recognized the posture. Every muscle in her body was ready, listening, monitoring the movements of the villagers. She wanted us out of there and fast, I understood that. Before I could ask how I might help, the men were mounting their horses and scanning the horizon.
I realized rather belatedly, that I was the only one without an animal of my own. Clearly arrangements had been made before I had entered the picture. Even Poleneus had a horse for his use. I would slow them down on foot.
Xena seemed to fully register this point at the same moment I did. She had swung herself easily onto the restless animal who was now stilling beneath her thighs' solid grip.
Xena gave one last sharp glance around the village square, hair ruffling in the morning's rising wind and pulse throbbing softly in her throat. Then she reached a hand down toward me. "Come on," she said, and there was a yet unheard softness in her voice that shimmered chills down my spine.
I felt I was moving in slow motion as I stretched my own hand upward and locked grip on her forearm. Her dark hair was brilliantly haloed by the pale blue sky above us, and her skin felt warm and firm in my grasp. She cinched her unfailing grip on my arm and lifted me onto her mount like we did it every day. I settle against her back, thigh to thigh and boots brushing boots. For the life of me, in that moment, I couldn't have told anyone if I were in Amphipolis or a seaside village, if I were a child or a woman.
Xena gripped the reins in one hand and kicked the animal to life, setting a wild pace for our exit and letting her men fall into line behind. I wrapped my arms around her midriff, clung to the hard and powerful muscles flexing beneath my touch, and held on for dear life as we flew into the wilderness.
*****
(continued in Chapter 4...)