Cath, Bard

OWNERSHIP DISCLAIMER

The characters of Xena and Gabrielle and others belong in their entirety to Universal/MCA , Renaissance Pictures, and all the other powers that be. No copyright infringement is intended. I wrote this story at the urging of my muse; it should never be used for profit. Please do not copy or cite elsewhere without express permission of the author.

VIOLENCE

This story does not depict scenes of violence and/or their aftermath.

LOVE/SEX WARNING/DISCLAIMER:

This story depicts a loving friendship between two consenting adult women. Sexual relations are not involved, but could be pleasantly imagined. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story.

SPOILER WARNING

This story describes events after a Xena episode entitled The Ides of March. As such, it may contain spoilers.

Gabrielle closed her eyes and fell on the cool grass. The sun warmed her face.

She could smell every flower in the known world and hear the song of every bird.

"Gods! It is so wonderful to be alive!" exclaimed the beautiful young woman as she rolled over on her stomach to let the warmth penetrate her back as well.

From her seat against a nearby tree, Xena watched the Bard. A patient smile pulled at the corners of her strong, sensuous mouth.

Ever since their return to the land of the living, Gabrielle experienced each day as if it was the first day of her life. She filled her senses with the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of earthly existence. Following their crucifixions, the afterlife had proved a trial for the Bard. It left her craving sunlight. But that was a story for another scroll, when she was ready…

Gabrielle wore a teal green shift, tied over one shoulder and fastened at the waist

by a leather braid. She had abandoned her warrior leathers and armor as soon as they reached Amphipolis, storing them in a hutch at Cyrene's tavern. They reminded her too much of that places they visited after the Romans had finished with them.

On the other hand, the Warrior Princess had oiled, polished, and repaired her leathers and armor until they glistened like new, yet fit like a glove.

"Some things never change," thought Gabrielle as she had watched her soulmate engage in her old rituals of sharpening, stitching, cleaning, and polishing. The Bard found the ritual comforting.

Xena, too, relished their return, but the adventure of getting back had left her wanting more action. Unlike Gabrielle, Xena felt alive in the afterlife. The quest to return was all she needed, not the grass or trees or sky. In fact, she was now a bit bored.

Today, though, Xena had a purpose that filled her with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Today she planned to ask if she could study the Bard’s stories of their life together.

As they awaited death in a Roman prison cell, Xena had confessed to her companion that she wished she had read her scrolls. She recalled Gabrielle's reply as if it happened yesterday, instead of an eternity ago: "You would have liked them," had been the response of her true friend who chose to stay and defend the Warrior Princess from their Roman enemies, rather than save herself.

Xena stood and walked over to where Gabrielle lay on the grass.

"Gabrielle, " she began.

"Yes, my Princess?"

Xena pretended to be annoyed as Gabrielle rolled onto her back and gazed up at the tall, fabulous female towering over her.

"I think it's time I read your scrolls."

Xena saw the joy in her companion's eyes.

Wordlessly, and with sudden grace, Gabrielle rose to her feet. She took Xena by the hand and led her into Cyrene's home, straight to a chest in the corner of a small storage room. A strong-looking lock guarded the contents of the chest.

"The gods bless your mother for keeping these," said Gabrielle in a voice filled with gratitude. She took the key from a hook inside a cabinet and unlocked the chest.

"To think that Joxer even returned two of them to Cyrene when he heard we were…." She hesitated, the word frozen in her throat.

"…dead." Xena finished Gabrielle's sentence and Gabrielle nodded solemnly.

Gabrielle lifted the heavy top of the chest, pulled out two scrolls, and handed them to Xena.

"Read those first. They set the stage," the Bard stated proudly.

The two women walked into Cyrene's kitchen. Gabrielle pulled out a chair and motioned for Xena to sit. Then she disappeared into the tavern and returned with a goblet and bottle of Cyrene's best port, which she placed on the table in front of Xena. She sat opposite the Warrior Princess and watched.

Xena's hands trembled as she untied the leather lace and unrolled the first of

Gabrielle's scrolls…

Xena pushed back from the table and rubbed her tear-stung eyes. She had been reading Gabrielle’s scrolls for three days now, pausing only to eat, bathe, and sleep a few hours each night. The desire to read all of them consumed her.

After Xena studied the first two scrolls, titled "Sins of the Past" and "Chariots of War" by a clever Bard, Gabrielle offered a reprieve.

"You don’t have to read any more, Xena, if you don’t want to," Gabrielle told her friend. She was delighted when Xena read what she had already given her.

But the Bard’s tales intrigued Xena and she plunged on.

Gabrielle presented a heroic Warrior Princess in these chronicles. Through the scrolls, Xena realized that, early on, her friend had seen the goodness and honor that Xena did not find in herself until much later in their relationship.

Xena encountered humor, tragedy, action, romance, dreams, and suspense as she unrolled each scroll. She had lived these events, yet they became more real to her through the words of the woman she loved.

Xena had just finished a scroll called "The Quest" and felt emotionally drained. In the middle of a lively discussion with Cyrene, Gabrielle paused to look at the Warrior Princess. She noticed her friend’s weary expression and excused herself with a polite smile.

The tall woman sensed Gabrielle standing behind her. The Bard glanced at the scroll’s title.

"That was one of my better efforts," she said quietly, resting strong, gentle hands on Xena’s shoulders.

"Oh, oh, … warrior knots," Gabrielle teased. She felt the tension in her dark and beautiful companion and began kneading tight muscles, then worked her way to the base of a strong, delectable neck. Xena leaned back into Gabrielle and let the Bard’s touch soothe her.

"You don’t have to finish them, you know. I’m just happy you’ve read what I gave you."

"Gabrielle, I want to see them all. I should have done this long ago, my love."

Regret gave Xena’s voice a gentleness and vulnerability that touched Gabrielle’s heart every time.

As Gabrielle continued her massage, Xena pointed out some stories that seemed to be missing bits and pieces. Gabrielle responded that she was occasionally forced to use parts of scrolls to kindle fires, and that Xena had used one piece for another, more personal, purpose. She meant this in jest, but felt the Warrior Princess stiffen at the mention of what Xena now viewed as a desecration of great art.

"Read on, oh Princess mine," said the Bard in her most poetic tone, "but please remember to eat and rest. And hey…"

"Yes?" said Xena gazing up into mesmerizing blue-green eyes.

"…I miss you."

Xena patted Gabrielle’s hand and promised to stop for the evening after three more stories. The Bard said goodnight to Cyrene and headed for their room.

Sometime during the very early morning, Gabrielle reached for her Warrior Princess. She felt only an empty space in the bed beside her….

Gabrielle peeked into Cyrene’s kitchen. She expected to see Xena poring over another story, or at least asleep, face down amidst a pile of scrolls. But the Warrior Princess was nowhere in sight.

"All right, where would a Warrior Princess go in the middle of the night?" Gabrielle smiled to herself. Although she pretended to be annoyed at Xena’s scroll obsession, she felt flattered that her writing had captured her friend’s attention so completely.

Gabrielle walked to the door that led to Cyrene’s small garden and peered into the darkness. There she saw her missing Princess.

Xena sat on a large stone in the middle of the garden. She stared off into the distance, then up into the night sky.

The moonlight illuminated Xena’s face and lit her smile as Gabrielle approached.

"So, you want to stay out all night?" asked the Bard. Her voice sounded half teasing, half scolding.

Xena stirred the ground with a bare foot. It seemed like forever before the she responded.

"Gabrielle, I’m not much of a talker. You know that. I want to tell you how your stories make me feel, but can’t find the right words. I can’t even tell you how much I love you."

Gabrielle sat beside Xena and rested her cheek against the taller woman’s shoulder. The Warrior reached out reflexively and stroked the young woman’s short, soft hair, then kissed the top of her head.

"You’ve already told me, Xena," came Gabrielle’s whispered response. "You told me when you didn’t send me home that first night, and when you healed my wounds in the Thessalian Temple, not to mention calling me back from the other side. You stayed with me through Hope, and came with me to India. You forgave me for betraying you to Ming Tien, when I couldn’t forgive myself. I stopped counting how many times you kept some thug from slitting my throat or cutting me down with a sword… You rescued me from a Roman prison..."

Here, the Bard paused on the verge of tears.

"Xena, we’ve even shared death and rebirth…. I can guess how much you care… love… "

Xena pulled Gabrielle tightly to her, one strong arm wrapped about the smaller woman’s shoulders. With her other hand, she lifted her companion’s face and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Then, with increasing fervor, she claimed Gabrielle’s mouth.

"You are soooo good with words, my Bard, but how are you with actions?" Xena issued the challenge between kisses.

In response, Gabrielle began nibbling at the Warrior’s earlobes and throat, growling like a small, fierce animal.

Xena enjoyed her friend’s stimulating activities for awhile, then grinned and pulled back.

"By the way, Gabrielle of Potidaea. I found the other scroll…."

Gabrielle stopped her nibbling. Xena thought she heard her soulmate emit a small squeak.

"Uh, Xena, I’m not sure which scroll you mean," said Gabrielle uncertainly, as she squirmed from Xena’s embrace. The Warrior Princess released her, for the moment.

"It’s the one about our visit to the Roman baths in the northern outpost. You never gave it a title," replied Xena.

Gabrielle remained silent, thinking as fast as she could. Of all her chronicles, this was her only work of pure fiction….or perhaps pure wish fulfillment. Darkness prevented Xena from seeing her Bard blush enticingly from head to toe.

"Oh, that one….," came a small voice in the night.

"Gabrielle, we never visited the Roman baths… together."

"But, you told me all about them. I just embellished a little and added myself to the story." Gabrielle realized this explanation sounded flimsy at best.

"You certainly did, and what a fertile, little mind you have, my dear." Xena smiled at her friend’s discomfort. Sometimes Gabrielle behaved like such a prude! Xena was enjoying this game of "bait the Bard."

Although they had consummated their physical love long ago, Gabrielle refrained from recording intimate details in her scrolls. Occasionally, she hinted at their more sensuous adventures, but only for dramatic effect.

"Did you write that one after reading Sappho at the Corinth archives?"

Gabrielle had no response. Writing this scroll had given her intense pleasure, but she could not recall when she produced it, or how it found its way into her regular collection. She would read it occasionally for stimulation, but never thought of sharing it with her companion, or anyone else.

"Were you embarrassed by it?" Xena questioned.

"A little," Gabrielle admitted.

"I thought it well-written and most, …er,… very exciting…" Xena needed to choose her words carefully here. The scroll stimulated her too, and she had plans for the rest of the evening. The last thing she wanted was to discourage Gabrielle with criticism.

"Thank you. But do you want me to destroy it, now?"

"Never, Gabrielle! After reading it, I wish we had been at the baths together. They’re even better in your story."

Gabrielle moved back toward her companion, but Xena stood at just that moment.

The Warrior Princess reached down and pulled the compact, muscular Bard up, then close.

"Gabrielle, let’s read the scroll again, …together." Xena issued her invitation in a husky voice, full of promise. Already, she sensed her friend’s arousal.

Gabrielle felt a wave of sheer pleasure wash through her body as she allowed this tall, dark, and beautiful woman to lead her back into the house.

Xena lit candles until the room glowed and Gabrielle had enough light to read aloud from her scroll. Both women settled on the bed. Xena reclined on her back. Gabrielle lay on her stomach next to her tall companion, propped on her elbows with the scroll in front of her. The Bard began…

Gabrielle’s scroll detailed their pleasurable experience at a natural hot spring where the Romans built a large bathing complex, complete with all the comforts. Of course, her tale was quite fictional, based primarily on Xena’s description of the Roman baths in the northern territory. Gabrielle journeyed there only in her creative imagination. At the baths, they soaked in warm, healing waters and were scrubbed clean by sponge-wielding attendants. They inhaled aromatic steam and sweated out impurities, then took long, sensuous massages.

Gabrielle continued to relate her story in a low, husky voice. The Bard closed her eyes as if visualizing the scene, rather than reading it. Xena felt herself becoming more and more aroused at her friend’s words and tone.

"You bet it would," thought Xena.

Gabrielle continued to recite, seemingly oblivious to her soulmate’s growing need. The Bard maintained that imagination was the most potent aphrodisiac. At the moment, Xena believed her companion with all her heart, as well as various other warm and willing parts of her body.

Xena’s self-control vanished in the flood of images conjured by her Bard. She reached for the scroll and gently, but firmly, pulled it from Gabrielle’s grasp. The younger woman moved closer. Xena reached again and removed her companion’s sleeping shift in one swift motion, leaving a mussed blonde head and a smile.

"Turn over," Xena ordered.

Gabrielle complied willingly. As reality began to imitate art, the talented Bard silently vowed to produce more works of fiction and leave them where Xena would find them.

The End.

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