Pointing to several of the warriors standing around them, Latona quickly organized a small party to carry the injured woman back to the village. Grouped on either side of Diana, they lifted her onto their strong shoulders in one smooth movement. The sudden jiggling caused the tall woman to hiss in pain as the party started to walk off.

"Is she all right?" Rell asked Latona, worried. "Oh damn. You can’t understand me and I can’t understand you either."

The scout looked down at the woman by her side, one hand gripped firmly around her wrist. She didn’t need any words to see the anxiety shadowing the outsider’s eyes. Trying to give her some comfort, she said, "Seguro. Diana’s seguro. Rell’s seguro. Latona amigo." Taking Rell’s hand, she gently guided her along the path towards the village, hoping someone there might speak a few words of the little one’s own tongue. She would settle a lot faster if she could make herself understood, even a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wrapped in the most beautifully finished and luxurious fur Rell had ever seen in her life, the reporter was led to a palm-thatched building on one side of a small square. Inside, she found Diana stretched out on a wide, rough bed, another gorgeous fur tucked around her body. Settling tiredly into the chair beside the bed, not wanting to disturb the other woman in case she was dozing only lightly, she looked down on the pale face of her companion.

Once they had gotten to the village, Latona showed Rell where Diana had been taken. Even without the benefit of language, it was clear the building was some kind of primitive hospital, though Rell did wonder whether they could be of any real assistance if Diana’s broken rib had punctured a lung. Once the reporter had been assured the other woman was safe and being well cared for, Latona took Rell to the hot pools to wash the mud from her body and hair.

Once Rell had stripped the last of her tattered clothing away, the scout had been shocked to see the wide grazes and many bruises covering the reporter’s skin. The middle-aged woman had hurried off to drag one of the healers back to tend to Rell’s wounds. Although it was obvious no one understood anything she was saying, the small woman had kept up a constant stream of words while the healer gently rubbed a soothing ointment into the scrapes. Latona kept repeating that Rell was safe but the other woman simply didn’t know anything of the Amazon trade tongue, leaving both women a little frustrated with their inability to communicate.

Seated on the chair, Rell looked around the room. She thought it must be a recovery area, judging from the number of beds. To her civilized western eyes, everything looked unsophisticated, yet the combination of colors and textures on the walls, ceiling and floor were very relaxing. Gotta remember this just in case I ever get around to redecorating my place, she thought. It’s so primal, but god, it feels so familiar at the same time.

Through the open doorway, an old woman wearing a flowing, full-length gown made from lightweight material, quietly shuffled into the room. Seating herself on the empty bed next to Rell and Diana, she smiled winningly at the reporter before giving her the surprise of her life.

"Well met, Little One. My name is Ardeen," she said in clear, though accented English. "Let me welcome you and your companion to New Amazonia, seeing no one else has thought to do it yet."

Rell’s jaw dropped in shocked amazement. "But I can understand you. I mean, you speak the same language as I do."

"Sweet Artemis, I should hope so. I spent enough time learning it," the old woman replied, her eyes twinkling with delight. "I haven’t many chances to use the tongue but I am now glad I have a way of speaking with you. It appears I may be one of the few in the village who can talk with you, at least for the moment anyway."

Rell felt herself relaxing immediately. Now that she knew someone could understand her, a knot of tension deep in her gut disappeared. "Is she going to be all right?" she suddenly asked, indicating the woman sleeping peacefully by her side. Communication was one thing, but what Rell really needed was information, especially about Diana.

Glancing at the pale-faced woman on the pallet, Ardeen replied gently, "Yes, she will recover within a day. The healers have sent her deeply into Morpheus’s arms. The energy she was wasting hiding her pain can now go towards her healing."

"That’s Diana for you." Rell commented, relief coloring her voice. "Stoic to the damned end."

The old woman looked questioningly at the other woman. "Stoic? This is a new word for me." she said, almost tasting the flavor of the word. "Please. I like to learn. Could you tell me what this 'stoic' means?"

"Oh. I guess it means she doesn’t want anyone seeing how she feels," Rell explained, realizing that although the woman might speak the same language, there were bound to be occasional confusions. "I like to learn new stuff too, so I guess you’re the best person to ask, seeing we can speak the same language. What does 'seguro' mean? Latona was saying it to me all the time but I didn’t know what she was talking about."

"Seguro is trade tongue for safe. Here, you and Diana are safe. No one will harm you," Ardeen said.

"Except that woman who tried to take my head off with her spear," Rell laughed lightly.

"Ahhhh, Antigone. Latona told me about the incident. When the pair of you left the portal exit, well, you were a little unexpected," the old woman smiled over at Rell. "No one knew who you were and they were just being cautious. Antigone will probably find some way of making it up to you over the next seven-day."

"I understand. She doesn’t have to do anything for me, though. Just the way you have taken care of us is more than enough, really," Rell replied, brushing her hand over the incredible softness of the fur covering her clean and naked body.

"It is our way, Little One," Ardeen said seriously. "An Amazon warrior is bound by her honor. Antigone might not have known who you were when you arrived but she does now. To ease her sense of shame, allow her to find some small way of serving you," the old woman continued.

"Okay, but it really isn’t necessary," Rell said modestly, filing away the fact she and her companion were somehow known by the people in the village.

Rising slowly to her feet, the old woman said, "Now, Little One. You need to be with your soulmate in Morpheus’s realm too. The journey here was just as hard on you as it was on her." Lifting the edge of the fur covering Diana, Ardeen indicated Rell was to get into bed with the other woman.

Rell blushed furiously, embarrassed that someone obviously knew they were lovers.

"I am a very old woman, Little One. There isn’t much that surprises me anymore. She," nodding at the sleeping woman in the bed, "will not thank me if she wakes to find you have rested elsewhere. That is never a good thing for a melding still as new as the bright season’s wine."

Climbing into bed and draping herself carefully around the other woman, Rell let Ardeen tuck the fur about them tenderly, as though they were her very own children. She watched as the old woman shuffled from the room, dousing the candle flame and dropping a leather sheet over the doorway before leaving. Nestling against Diana’s familiar warmth, Rell soon slipped away into sleep, unaware of the barely suppressed sense of hope filling the village around them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is that you, Ardeen? What are you doing hovering about my door like some scared trainee?" Meropa called from her common room cum office.

The old priestess poked her head sheepishly around the corner of the door frame. "I forget, you once ran the forest as a warrior and were not always our leader chained to a desk," she said as she stepped into the room. "I see age has no more dulled your ears than it has slowed your mind."

The Amazon leader snorted. "It is not age that is slowing me but all this endless parchment work I seem to have in front of me. I should have greeted our visitors by now, and still I am trying to sort out where to put the lambs we will have with the arriving of the new leaves."

Seating herself in the one comfortable chair in the room, a minor concession to her old bones Meropa had quietly arranged, the priestess continued, "I would stay with the parchments for now, old friend. Our visitors were in much need of rest after their journey through the portal. I have had them billeted in the healing hall until they are strong enough to be placed more permanently."

"The one you sensed was hurt, the dark-haired woman, she was that badly injured?" the leader asked.

"No. The healers say she has only broken a rib," Ardeen paused for a beat. "Twice over."

Meropa’s eyebrow rose, startled, a respectful expression on her face at the tall woman’s toughness. "And the other? Is she hurt too?"

"Both are covered in scrapes and bruises, but a night safely in the arms of Morpheus should see them well enough to greet you in the morn. Artemis seems to have tested them quite severely within her place of birth," Ardeen explained. "Though, I doubt Thisbe’s hunting party will ever recover from the fright of seeing the outsiders suddenly appearing as though by magic. Perhaps we should have told the rest of the women the pair were on their way to us."

"There was a problem, Old One? Why wasn’t I told about it immediately?" Meropa demanded, snapping into full "leader" mode at the first hint of some difficulty.

"It was not one we could have foreseen, Meropa. Thisbe’s party has been in the forest for the past seven-day. It seems they were just returning when they saw the pair appear from the portal exit. They did not know anything of the rumors in the village, and thought the outsiders had simply stumbled on us by accident. Antigone became a little…enthusiastic in her duty to protect the village," Ardeen said.

"Was anyone hurt?" the Amazon leader asked more quietly, now that she knew some of the details.

"Only Antigone’s pride. She has already volunteered to be the Little One’s personal protector to make up for striking her. I explained it to the storyteller as being a question of honor. She should accept Antigone’s presence without too many reservations," the old woman said, smiling "To err on the side of truth, once she starts to roam the village I doubt the Little One will lack for guides, protectors, and helpers, as well as the odd potential suitor. If the bonding was not already strong between the pair, I think we have some here who might give the dark warrior a real race for her dinars. In fact, that warrior is going to cause quite a stir by herself. If I weren’t so old, I might have made a play for her myself," Ardeen said, a sensual tone replacing the usual calmness she normally radiated.

"You are certain the dark-haired one is a warrior?" the leader questioned, ignoring the old priestess’ lasciviousness. The village could always do with more warriors, she thought, especially as so many of our own are aging past the point where it is safe to send them out on patrol anymore.

"Yes, I am sure. I couldn’t speak with her. The healers were all over her the moment the hunting party carried her in but she has the feel of a warrior, a good one. Remember, old friend. I have spent almost every waking heartbeat watching over them until they entered the portal. I am sure this is the warrior and the story-teller we have waited for," Ardeen stated with quiet confidence.

Smiling, hope glowing on her face, Meropa asked, "So what do we do now?"

"We wait to see if their destinies will call to them. Until they can accept their place here, there is nothing for us to do but hope and trust. Artemis might have her own ideas about time, but she has never let us down in many thousands of cycles. I think she will come through for us one more time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diana opened her eyes slowly, an unfamiliar feeling of softness surrounding her. Shifting her head sideways, she could see the top of Rell’s head nestled into the dark-haired woman’s strong shoulder. Her arms and legs were so tangled about the taller woman that she didn’t have a hope of getting up without waking the reporter. Not that getting up was the first thing on her mind now that she was more awake.

Hmmm, she thought, after an experimental stretch, considering I was sure I had one foot in the grave yesterday, I don’t feel all that bad this morning. Whatever that herbwoman gave me to drink last night must have put my lights out quite nicely. Though, I certainly don’t recommend trying to explain complicated medical information with hand gestures and a few words of simple Spanish. Guess I should be grateful I can speak enough to get things across. Rell must have been in hell yesterday when that Latona took her off somewhere. I’d hate not knowing what was being said around me.

As though thinking about the woman immediately connected them, Rell yawned deeply beside Diana before opening her own eyes to the first pearly light of the rising dawn. Looking up and seeing the other woman was awake, Rell gently kissed the side of her face before struggling higher in the bed.

"Morning, Diana. You look a lot better now than you did last night," she said happily. Still marveling at the softness of the furs they had slept in, she neatly tucked them around Diana’s bare shoulders, moving to smooth the sleep-tossed bangs on the tall woman’s forehead.

Smiling at Rell’s loving gestures, Diana replied, "I actually feel like I might live. My rib hardly aches today. They may not be very advanced medically here, at least not in the way we understand, but they do know their stuff when it comes to what the jungle can give them."

"Ummm. You were snoring up quite a storm when I returned last night," Rell teased.

"I don’t snore," Diana stated firmly.

"Oh, now that was a pout if ever I heard one," the reporter replied, giggling merrily.

"And I don’t pout either," the tall woman sulked in return.

"Has the big, bad mercenary had her feelings hurt?" Rell baby-talked. "Should the defenseless, little journalist kiss the boo-boo better for you?"

"Humph. If you’re defenseless, then I’m a little ol’ prairie dog," Diana said.

"Hey, if you’re a prairie dog, I think you might have to prove that claim," the stocky woman pronounced.

Intense blue eyes sparkling in challenge, Diana suddenly ducked under the covers to prove her claim of being a small rodent. What she did under there soon had Rell forgetting all about proving anything, aside from how much she really felt for the beautiful woman.

Sometime later, after they had cooled the edge from their libidos, a scratching at the leather sheet covering the door let the pair know they had a visitor. Rell shrugged her shoulders when Diana looked questioningly at her.

Remembering the language difficulties of the day before, Diana decided to stick to the little Spanish she knew, calling out to whomever was at the door. "Entrar, amigo."

She was surprised when an incredibly ancient woman came into the room, though Rell appeared to know who she was. Behind her was the friendly woman, Latona, as well as the one who had struck the reporter. Bristling a little at the sight of her, the dark-haired woman cooled her expression before continuing.

"Si," she said. "Tu desear algo?"

"You speak the trade tongue very well for someone not born of us," the old woman noted, enjoying Diana’s momentary start of surprise at Ardeen’s clear English. "But the only one with a wish among us, a demanda, meaning a request…" she explained for both Rell’s and the other Amazon’s benefit, "…is Antigone," she finished, waving the woman forward.

Antigone stepped nervously towards the two outsiders, locking eyes with Rell’s. Speaking slowly, through what was clearly a carefully rehearsed request, she said, "Antigone hopes Little One can forgive. I was wrong. Allow me to show you village, meet others…" she stumbled, forgetting the rest of the English she had practiced that morning with the priestess. Slipping into the trade tongue she hoped the taller woman would understand and explain to the Little One, she finished, "Yo desear a facilitar algun calzado y ropa."

"What did she say, Diana? I didn’t get any of that," Rell asked the woman against her side.

"She said she wants to give you some footwear, boots most likely, and clothing. Facilitar means provide, I think," Diana explained. "Considering the state of our gear, I’d take her up on it. About the only thing worth saving might be our own boots. You’ll probably look really cute in one of those split to the hip skirts they wear around here," she finished wickedly.

Slapping at Diana’s arm, Rell replied, "Don’t be such an imp. I’m sure they have other stuff. After all, Ardeen wears that gown thing." Ignoring the other woman’s raised eyebrow at the thought of Rell in the filmy, almost transparent gown, the reporter asked, "How do I say 'thank you'?"

The tall woman leaned over to whisper in Rell’s ear, coaching her in the correct pronunciation. The reporter nodded when she thought she had it right.

"Gracias, mi amigo," she said slowly, hoping she would be understood. The smile suddenly gracing Antigone’s face made it clear she had been.

Gesturing with one hand, Antigone said, "Venir, venir."

"Oh, I know what that word means. She wants me to go somewhere with her," Rell answered, pleased she had remembered the word from the day before. Starting to toss the fur to one side, she realized she was still naked under the material. "Hey, if anyone thinks I am about to parade myself around the village without a stitch to cover my modesty, they can just get their dirty minds out of the damned gutter," the reporter stated firmly, her eyes never leaving the tall woman’s.

"Did I say anything?" Diana offered in mock innocence.

"You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face," Rell grumped.

"Perhaps this would be of help, ‘ayudar’," Ardeen said, holding out a colorfully woven woolen robe she had taken from the clothing press against the wall.

"Save me, please," the reporter begged, sliding the robe around herself before tying the sash tightly. "Everything is going to become a language lesson around here until I can make myself understood." Even wearing the most pitiful expression on her face she could muster, Rell found sympathy in very short supply. Shrugging her shoulders, she followed a grinning Antigone out of the room.

"Are you sure they’ll be all right together, aside for the obvious language barrier?" Diana asked, once the stocky reporter was out of earshot.

"Your soulmate lets the anger burn in her heart after forgiveness has been asked for?" Ardeen questioned, seriously.

"Not that I know of, but that was one hell of a hit she took yesterday."

I think the anger burns in you more than it does the woman of your heart, the priestess thought silently. "Now that the Little One is getting herself properly covered, perhaps we should see about doing the same for you. Latona here will take care of your needs and then find you a sunlit place where no one will run into you accidentally. Does that suit?"

"Suits me fine. I hate being laid up in bed," Diana replied, Especially when I’m alone in it, she thought naughtily. Throwing the furs to one side, the tall woman eased herself upright, not noticing the looks of delight and genuine appreciation crossing the faces of both Amazons at the sight of her beautiful, naked body. The only delighted looks she was aware of any more, belonged on the face of a certain stubborn reporter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, look at you," Diana said cheekily, as Rell came towards her self-consciously. "I knew their outfits would be cute on you. I just didn’t realize how cute." Propped up comfortably on a brightly colored blanket under the shade of a tree beside square, the tall woman watched as Rell walked slowly towards her, hands holding down the front of her skirt. "Definite improvement over that robe you had on this morning," she continued, raising one eyebrow and remembering what was under the skimpy layer of leather Rell was wearing.

Standing in front of Diana, Rell plucked gingerly at the waist of her leather skirt. "I think there is more material in my bikini," she moaned, blushing faintly. "And they don’t even wear underclothes; I assumed these things would have a gusset." Lifting one edge of the leather to demonstrate this lack, Rell bared an expanse of flesh, which went up beyond her hip.

"Hey, I could get to like the look," Diana said appreciatively, running her eye along the exposed area of tanned skin. "But what’s this?" she asked, indicating a broad leather piece across the other woman’s chest. "No paint?"

Rell blushed deeply. "No. I’m not used to wandering about bare-chested, unlike some," she said archly, looking at Diana’s naked breasts. Not that Rell didn’t enjoy the sight, but she preferred to have it kept to the privacy of their bed. "I damn near hurt myself trying to pantomime ‘bra’ to Antigone. Ardeen eventually came to my rescue. She thought I looked like a dying monkey trying to get Antigone to understand," Rell laughed. Touching the leather strapped firmly across her chest, she explained, "They call this a pecho venda, a breast band. Some of the hunters wear them so they don’t scratch themselves when they start chasing game through the thicker parts of the jungle."

"Guess I’m safe in assuming the entire morning turned into a language lesson," Diana said.

"And how!" Rell almost snarled. "After I was dressed, Antigone took me for a tour of the village." Settling next to Diana on the big, woolen blanket, she started to point out the areas she had seen that morning, giving them the names she’d learned. "Over there is the enredo corredor, a mess hall. Everyone eats there, including us tonight. There is the caliente la piscina, hot pool, and we slept in the curacion corredor last night, the healing hall," she said. "And up there, on that terrace thing, is the adiestramiento el suelo, a training ground for the women here. It’s where they practice with their weapons and stuff."

"For someone who spoke zero Spanish this morning, you’re doing okay," Diana praised. "What other words did you pick up?"

"Just the one phrase, but I had to ask Ardeen how to say it otherwise it would have been another of those dying monkey pantomimes with Antigone," she smiled at the mental image. "So I decided to ask Ardeen instead," Rell said. Leaning towards the other woman, she whispered in her ear, "Yo encanta tu."

The utter stillness settling over the tall woman rattled the reporter. "Did I say it wrong, Diana. Have I just insulted you in some way?" Rell asked, nervousness making her voice tremble.

"No. No, you said it exactly right. It’s just been a long time since anyone…" she trailed off for a moment. "It’s just been a long time since anyone said that to me, and meant it," the woman explained.

"Well, I do mean it. I love you. But," Rell paused for a moment, "I’d rather say it to you in Spanish. It just sounds, I don’t know, like it comes from my heart."

Wrapping one arm around the stocky reporter and pulling her closer, Diana said, "You can say it in any language you like, if that’s the feeling it gives you."

In the shared moment of emotional intimacy, neither woman was aware of the young Amazon coming towards them. Nervous of approaching the outsiders, especially as they seemed rather occupied looking into each other’s eyes, she stood back for several moments before clearing her throat.

"Oh, hola," Diana greeted the woman. "Hacer tu queria algo?" she asked gently, sensing the teenager’s uneasiness. The former mercenary quickly translated for Rell’s benefit. "I asked her if she wanted something," she explained under her breath as the young Amazon came closer.

Pointing at herself, she said her name ‘Leda’ before asking, "Lata yo traer tu algo alimento y agua?"

Nodding, Diana replied, "Si, por favor."

Watching the woman trot away, Rell asked, "Okay, I know 'si' means yes, but what have you said yes to? Not another language lesson for the reporter, I hope. I don’t think I could take anymore in at the moment. I feel like my brain is about to explode."

"Lunch," Diana laughed. "Don’t think I haven’t heard your belly rumbling away for the past half hour. Didn’t you get breakfast this morning?" she asked, seriously.

"Not when I don’t know how to ask for it. If I almost hurt myself acting out ‘bra’, I probably would have fractured something vital trying for 'coffee'. I wasn’t sure I would have recognized what Antigone brought me, anyway, so I decided not to chance it." Rell explained, ruefully. Thinking for a moment, she asked, "How long you been under this tree, Diana?"

"Most of the morning. Once I was dressed in one of these standard leather skirts, the herb-woman made it very clear I wasn’t to move about too much. I think she was threatening to tie me to the bed if I stressed this rib again, but I’m not sure. Why do you ask?" Diana answered.

"Notice anything missing around here?" Rell questioned. "It should jump right out at you."

Diana took several minutes to look around the square and as much of the basin as she could see. There was the slow drift of women heading to the mess hall, the occasional movement of guards high on the rim, the background sounds of people talking together, and the grunts and calls of jungle animals carrying on the breeze. The delicate scents of forest flowers filled the square, mixing with the appetizing smells of lunch. To Diana, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Whatever was supposed to be jumping out at her was evading her searching eyes and ears.

Shaking her head, she said, "I think you’re going to have to tell me. I can’t see anything missing."

"There are no children here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diana shook her head briefly, looking around the square. "You know, I never even noticed. I wonder where they’re hiding them?" She was disgusted with herself for not perceiving the absence of youngsters running about the village.

"Don’t kick yourself, Diana. I wasn’t aware of it either. We’ve both taken in so much new information, I’m surprised we still know our own names," Rell replied. "I didn’t even realize the children were missing until Antigone took me up to the training ground. To be honest, I don’t think they are hiding the kids from us."

"What gives you that idea?" Diana asked, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Well, first of all, there are loads of classrooms up there in one long building, but there couldn’t have been more than half a dozen teenage girls occupying just one small room near the front. I thought that pretty odd to start with. I mean, why build such a big place if there will only be a few people using it?"

Diana nodded at Rell’s conclusion.

"Then Antigone took me to where she lives. That was when I realized there were no children here at all," the reporter continued.

"Oh?"

"Well, there was this one bedroom towards the back that must have been for a kid. It was just full of carved wooden toys, miniature weapons, all kinds of stuff, almost to overflowing, but they had no signs of wear. If someone were playing with them, surely they’d be scuffed. And Antigone had just the saddest look in her eyes," Rell explained.

"A sad look?" Diana queried.

"Yea, like something important was missing, something that belonged in that room," the reporter finished.

"Her child could have died or been killed," the tall woman offered as an explanation. "This is fairly wild jungle around here. Not the sort of place I would willingly let kids roam."

"Look around us, Diana. Everyone is heading for the mess hall for lunch, but can you see one child anywhere?" Rell asked, glancing at the small gatherings of women. "I’m willing to bet that the youngest person we have seen was Leda. She looked about, what, sixteen? She certainly wasn’t much more," Rell stated firmly.

"So, there are no children. They may be hidden away while there are strangers here," Diana said, pointing to herself and Rell.

"Okay, then. Where are the men?" Rell asked, sweeping one hand around.

"They’re Amazons, Rell. They don’t need men," the tall woman growled, exasperated the reporter didn’t know something so simple.

"Diana, even Amazons procreate. They need a man or two around for that," the stubborn woman replied, logically. "So, where are they?"

"Well, maybe they’re somewhere else, with the children, for example," she offered, suddenly realizing she was on the losing end of the argument.

Rell sighed deeply at Diana’s intransigent attitude. "I was all over this village this morning. The only places I didn’t go were the leader’s house and the gray-stoned building on the far wall. These places are tiny, by the way. There simply isn’t anywhere in the basin to hide a bunch of noisy kids and enough men to ensure an adequate gene pool," Rell finished triumphantly. "And don’t even try to tell me they’re outside the village somewhere. You said it yourself - it’s dangerous in the jungle. Do you think any mother is going to put her children in danger, simply to hide them from us? Come on, Diana. We’re just not that important. I’m telling you, there are no children here, and certainly no men."

The tall woman stared off into the distance and silently grumped. She knew Rell was right, but just didn’t want to admit it out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diana realized her eyes had been open for some time before her awareness caught up with her. From deep inside her dreams, she thought she might have been awake, though now she was awake she wondered if she was still asleep. Glancing down at the quietly snoring woman nestled into her shoulder, the ex-mercenary smiled briefly at the tiny, sated smile gracing Rell’s face as she slept.

Whatever had woken her from the depths of slumber tugged at her soul again, and Diana looked about the room trying to identify the sound her ears were not really hearing. Lit by ghostly beams of moonlight, the details of the area could be clearly seen. Piled haphazardly on the bed next to them were the clothes they had nearly torn off each other in their haste to get into bed, their boots leaning drunkenly against themselves on the floor. Draped a little more tidily over the end of the bed were two beautifully woven robes of fine wool the Amazons had given them to wear to the hot pools, or before getting dressed. The leather sheet over the door rippled gently in the soft breeze, bringing with it the heady scent of night-blooming flowers. Along the walls, the closets and clothing presses stood as silent sentinels in the dark corners. Whatever had woken her was obviously not in the room.

Sharpening her ears, she could just make out the sound of footfall as a guard slowly paced her circuit around the village. In the distance, there was the ever-present background rumble of forest creatures as they hunted for food or mates in the darkness. The whisper of conversation reached her ears as two guards passed on their circuits, briefly exchanging greetings before continuing on. A muted cry of pleasure drifted through the open window, bringing a smile to Diana’s face as she remembered a few cries she and Rell had made earlier in the evening. Clearly, whatever had dragged her from the deep whirlpool of her dreams wasn’t coming from outside.

Unable to resist the gentle pull, Diana slid carefully from Rell’s embrace, grateful she didn’t wake the other woman. Dressing quickly and silently in her leather skirt, not bothering with her boots, she crept from the room, determined to track down the source of the not-quite-sound she was experiencing.

After soundlessly exiting the building, she stood for several minutes, allowing her eyes to adjust to the increased light from the full moon and the torches burning cheerfully around the village square. Hmmm, not as late as I thought, she mused. After the cool darkness of the healing hall, the bright light caused Diana’s eyes to water, blurring her vision. She waited until the tearing settled so she could see.

She listened for the guards before letting the insistent pull guide her steps. A part of her wasn’t surprised to find herself outside the gray-stoned. Another part wondered what the building was used for. Stepping over the threshold, into a small antechamber, Diana quickly realized, just from the carvings on the walls and the decorated altar, that it was a space sacred to the Amazons.

Towards the back, she noticed archways leading deeper into the mountain. Most were dark, open spaces beckoning her to explore, but one had a painted leather drape hiding whatever lay beyond. Diana was tempted to step through one of the open doorways, just to see what was on the other side but she found her eyes being drawn back to the altar again and again. She had to admit, it was a beautiful piece of work, carved from one solid block of pure white marble, and brought here somehow.

By the candlelight along the walls, Diana could make out the finely wrought carving of a stunning woman with long, flowing hair running through a forest, a bow in one hand. Around the main image, there were smaller ones of grouped Amazons. Squinting a little in the candlelight, the dark-haired woman could see the reliefs told a story. The one that caught her eye immediately, showed a large group of women boarding a sailing vessel, their possessions piled in their arms. Running her glance over the rest of the carvings, she saw they described the Amazons’ journey across the ocean and over the land, until they finally reached the volcanic basin. Nice to have that old scroll confirmed, she thought. Now that the story was corroborated, Diana’s skepticism began to abate.

Once she was inside the marble-floored room, the pull she had been feeling grew stronger, tugging her gently towards the altar. Padding silently on bare feet across the cool floor, she approached the marble altar, seeing something lying on top of it. In the flickering light of the candles, she couldn’t quite make out what was there until she was standing right in front of the waist high stone.

Placed side by side on the polished marble top were a sword and a staff. Diana glanced briefly at the staff, noting a small piece of fur at one end and rope crisscrossed halfway along, just inside where someone would have held it. But the sword was what captured her complete attention.

To Diana, it was an instrument of lethal beauty. After years of studying ancient styles of warfare, she had gained quite an appreciation for old weaponry. A little over two and half feet long, with what appeared to be a solid brass hilt and pommel, the sword almost glowed in the light. A simple black leather strip carefully bound the grip, and there were three circles of shell inlaid into the hilt. Catching the light, the shell seemed to wink luminously in a rainbow of colors. The blade had probably been sharpened hundreds, if not thousands of times, giving it an edge keener than a razor. As the candlelight shattered along the edge, it became a living entity, a bolt of living lightning shaped and forged into this deadly blade.

Not understanding the impulse, she slowly reached out with her right hand, and wrapped hesitant fingers around the grip. Almost reverently, she lifted the sword from its place on the altar, feeling the comforting weight of the weapon settling into her palm. A mild tingle, like a shiver, swept up her arm and through her body. In many ways, it felt like being aroused, yet it was different at the same time. Stepping back, she experimentally swung the sword in a tight circle beside her head. Smiling, she realized the blade was like an extension of her arm, and not something made of steel and brass. Moving back further, well away from the altar, she began swinging the blade in a complicated series of movements in front and to the side of her body. She was almost laughing at the ease of the pattern. It seemed so natural, as though she had been doing it all her life. Bouncing nimbly on her toes, she began a series of tight, fast patterns in front of herself, the blade becoming a bright, silver-gray blur, the candlelight arcing from its edge like sparks.

Suddenly leaping upward, she somersaulted, laying her body out in mid-air before landing several feet from her original position, the sword slashing through the air with a whistle. Running, she bounced off a wall, using it to flip over before landing on her feet once more with the blade in front of her, ready to parry or thrust. It became like a child’s game. How far, how fast, how high, always having the sword ready to defend or attack. Still leaping and jumping, Diana added the high sweeping kicks she had learned as a mercenary, punching out with her other hand at unseen opponents. Without even having to look, she always knew where to place her feet, or what she could grip with her free hand to spin herself off in some unexpected direction, or land in some unforeseen place. The open space inside the temple became her own personal three-dimensional chessboard, and she alone controlled every move, every piece in play.

Safely hidden behind the leather curtain leading into her meditation area, Ardeen watched with amazed delight through a tiny crack between the leather and the door frame. Diana’s lethal ballet, her dance of death with sword and body, confirmed everything she knew or had sensed about the dark-haired woman. The healer is going to have Diana’s heart on a platter tomorrow for stressing that rib so soon, the old woman smiled to herself, but I doubt that warrior is even feeling it right now. The old priestess was stunned as Diana appeared to stand full length on her head after a high bounce off one wall. One arm was outstretched towards the ground with the other flung sideways keeping her balanced in space as she turned, the point of the sword missing the marble floor by a hair. Then again, I might have her heart on a platter myself if she scratches my floor, Ardeen growled silently.

Completely enthralled by the display of ability and strength, the last priestess of the Amazon Nation prayed the other outsider would also hear the call of her destiny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rell stirred briefly, reaching out sleepily for Diana. When her arm encountered nothing but the empty furs beside her, Rell suddenly snapped awake. "Now where did she get to?" the stocky reporter mumbled aloud. "She can’t have gone to the bathroom. We’ve got that pot thing under the bed."

Rell had been a little embarrassed when Diana had casually reached under the bed earlier in the evening and seated herself on the pot as though she were taking the royal throne. The short woman knew the Amazon equivalent of a bathroom was on the other side of the village. She hadn’t looked forward to the long walk if she needed to go in the night, but she didn’t think she could have used the pot either. It didn’t matter to her that Diana would be the only one to see her.

Even when the two women had traveled through the jungle together, Rell had always sought out the privacy of a bush before relieving herself. It was just one of those things with her. The luxury of being that modest, either in the jungle or here in the village, had not crossed Diana’s mind for a moment. She was used to being in very close contact with a small army of ill-mannered men. "When a woman wants to go, she goes," the taller woman had stated calmly from her position near the floor.

"Okay, if she isn’t doing her I-am-a-jungle-queen bit on the pot, where the hell did she get to?" the reporter asked herself. Feeling the warmth of the empty furs next to her, Rell figured the other woman hadn’t been gone too long. She could also smell the scent of their love making rising as the heat slowly dissipated into the cool night air.

Looking around, Rell noticed Diana’s skirt was gone but her boots were still on the floor. "This is becoming more and more curious," she muttered, climbing from the bed. Grabbing her robe draped over the end of the bed, Rell quietly left the room, hoping to find Diana nearby.

As she left the building, she chose to follow her nose, trusting instinct to lead her to Diana. It was a technique she had used in the past to find people, and it did occasionally work. She hoped the strong connection between them would permit that odd knack to work now. Walking quietly through the sleeping village, she allowed an intuitive pull to gently guide her through the huts; she somehow knew when to stop to avoid a guard or sentry. Rell didn’t think there would be any trouble wandering about the village at night but felt it was better if she didn’t have to explain her presence to anyone.

In a way, Rell wasn’t the least bit surprised to find herself outside the gray-stone building. It was the only building, other than the leader’s quarters, that Antigone hadn’t shown her. Diana had expressed some interest in the building’s purpose, but Rell hadn’t been able to supply an answer.

"Trust her to want to know everything. I’m surprised she didn’t just march on over to the leader’s hut and demand a tour of the place," Rell said quietly to herself. Poking her nose cautiously past the edge of the doorway leading into the antechamber, in case some guard decided to relieve her of the appendage, Rell was astonished to see Diana’s body sailing at a seemingly impossible angle, past the door into the next room.

"Shit," she mouthed as she ducked quickly through both doorways and into the main chamber.

She caught one brief glimpse of Diana swinging from a bar high on a wall with one hand, a sword slashing through the air. Then, something at the end of the room grabbed her complete attention. Rell’s head snapped to one side as though someone had shouted urgently to her. Something twisted her towards the white marble altar. Walking slowly, she approached the slab, her eyes fixed on a long wooden staff lying there.

The staff was few inches over five feet long, and Rell could clearly see the dark stains where someone’s hands had long ago held the wood. A small piece of off-white fur had been lashed to one end with leather strips and rope had been wound in a crisscross fashion near the middle. Reaching out, her own hands naturally fell onto the darker patches. She lifted the staff from the altar and held it out in front of her, feeling a slight shiver through her body.

Turning away from the altar, she spun the staff slowly between her hands, feeling the weight of the wood as it rotated end over end. There was a familiar feeling to what she was doing, as though she had done it a thousand times before. Rell suddenly stopped the staff spinning and dropped to one knee, swinging the staff to one side in what would have been a vicious swipe against the back of someone’s legs. If there had been an opponent there, he would have been flat on his back now with a broken bone or two.

Jumping to her feet again, she spun in place, the staff a dark blur in her sure hands. The cool stone floor felt absolutely secure under her bare feet, and her woolen robe became a fanciful dragon’s wing as she turned. Lashing out with one end, she hit an imaginary attacker solidly in the gut before bouncing to one side. Rell snapped through a series of movements, bringing the staff underhand, overhead, back thrust, slice. Each movement shaded seamlessly into the next so involuntarily, it was as though she was breathing her way through every step. Rell knew, without knowing how, that she was gauging her strikes to a hair. With this staff she could disable, or kill, simply by choosing to put a little more force behind the blow.

Gradually, as she moved with the staff, an awareness was growing in her, a feeling for the immediate space surrounding her body she’d never had. She could sense what was behind her without have to turn around. The awareness flooded through her, awakening other things as it passed. Over time, it would awaken a slow understanding of who she really was. That fragment of self-knowledge however, would remain just beyond the reach of her consciousness until she was ready to accept it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diana had known of Rell’s arrival in the temple from the very moment the reporter’s nose had crept cautiously around the corner of the antechamber door. A sense she didn’t understand had warned her of the other woman’s presence moments before Rell had popped through the second archway. Caught on an upswing as she flipped over the bar, she didn’t have a chance to say a word before the stocky reporter’s attention had focused elsewhere. Dropping lightly to the ground, sword still held in her hand, she had watched as the short woman approached the altar and lifted the staff.

As Rell turned to face the main area of the marble chamber, oblivious to everything around her. There was a look in her eyes that Diana was sure mirrored her own. She watched as the other woman began to spin the staff slowly, then move into a series of sharp-edged, graceful patterns. Just as the sword was a part of Diana’s own body, the staff seemed to be a part of Rell’s. The reporter’s movements were precise and deadly, designed to kill or maim depending on Rell’s will. How Diana knew this, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that the staff was meant to be in Rell’s hands, as though it had been made specifically for her height and strength. In the same uncanny way she knew the sword had been made for her.

When the pattern of rapid movement finally wound down, leaving Rell standing in the middle of the chamber barely out of breath, Diana quietly approached.

"I see you’ve found a new toy to play with," she said, glancing at the staff Rell held confidently in one hand.

"It’s not a toy, Diana. It’s a weapon," Rell replied, arching her eyebrow at the taller woman. "It’s my weapon, my staff," she finished a little uncertainly, not understanding how she knew the staff belonged to her. Dragging the focus from herself, she looked at the sword in Diana’s hand. "Interesting. You appear to have found something to play with yourself," she said lightly.

The dark-haired woman held the blade out in front of her, looking at it in wonder. "I can’t explain it, Rell. Somehow, in a way I’m not sure I understand, this sword is as much mine as that staff is yours," she said. Gazing back at the other woman, she continued, "I think we had better put these back where they belong. The Amazons might not be too happy to find us touching something they think is special in some way."

Nodding, the two women turned as one to return the weapons to their place on the altar. Both had to fight with themselves, reluctant to release the weapons. Finally forcing their fingers open, they snatched their hands away from the marble top, and quickly wrapped their arms about each other to stop themselves from trying to pick up the weapons again. The siren call was so powerful it took every ounce of self-control Diana possessed to turn herself and Rell away from the altar and towards the door of the temple.

Even outside, both women could still feel the weapons pulling at their souls, crying for them to return and claim what they knew in the deepest chasms of their hearts to be their own. Almost running to get away from the temple and the weapons, the women headed back through the peacefully sleeping village towards the healing hall and their bed.

Only when Ardeen was absolutely certain the two outsiders would not return to the temple, did she finally step from her hiding place behind the leather curtain. She had watched as the women had struggled to release their weapons, almost staggering as they forced themselves to leave the chamber. Wiping joyful tears from her old and wrinkled face, she approached the altar, looking down on the sword and staff. Brushing her fingers lightly along the front edge of the waist-high slab, she quietly said, "Thank you, Artemis. Thank you."

Gathering her thoughts, she turned to leave the temple. This night she was sure she would be waking Meropa with some very glad news. Just before crossing the threshold, she turned and whispered into the chamber one more time, "Thank you." Pulling her gown about herself, she hurried into the darkness towards the leader’s hut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After their visit to the temple, both women had tossed and turned restlessly for some time once they’d returned to bed. Neither was quite willing to discuss her feelings, or how the weapons were calling to them. Eventually, with a sense of exasperated relief, they had turned to each other for support and comfort. They had made love for hours, until they were both so exhausted they couldn’t even moan their release into the night. Pushing each other’s mind and body as far as possible, they were barely able to shudder as the pleasurable wave crashed over them time and again. Twined together as one, their fingers still sunk deeply into each other’s wellspring, they had dropped into a deep sleep at almost the same moment.

Rell woke first, trying to make sense of her surroundings before opening her eyes. The screaming need to hold that staff in her hands again had eased off during the night, making her even more aware than usual of the other aches and pains around her body. Comfortably embraced in Diana’s arms, she quickly cataloged her twinges and bruises. The sensation of Diana’s fingers still imbedded deeply inside her made the short woman very aware of how sore her power pinnacle now felt. Hmmm, won’t be doing that again any time soon, she thought to herself, remembering the almost driven way they had made love, trying to wipe everything else from their minds.

Wriggling her own fingers briefly, she realized they were also still inside the other woman. The sensation quickly brought Diana from the depths of sleep, muttering, "No. Please. Not again. I think I’m going to die if you make me come any more, Rell."

"Okay, I won’t, if you won’t," Rell replied quietly, opening her eyes for the first time since she had woken. Gazing into the endless blue of Diana’s eyes, a warm, safe feeling stole over her. "I don’t think I could, anyway. We pretty much wore each other out last night," she said.

Diana smiled in return, slowly withdrawing her fingers from Rell, sure the other woman was probably just as sore. "Everyone is going to think we’ve been riding for a month when we can’t get our legs back together again," she quipped quickly to cover the slight grimace on her face as Rell removed her own fingers.

Carefully rolling onto her back, trying to ignore the raw feeling at her center, Rell immediately noticed that the area around their bed had changed. ""Ummm, Diana?"

"Yea," the other woman replied, still trying to turn over without hurting her rib. The ache seemed even worse than the day before, but then again, she hadn’t been bouncing off temple walls yesterday either. Why didn’t I noticed the pain last night? she wondered.

"I know I didn’t bring them, and I am pretty sure you didn’t, so how’d they get here?" Rell asked, a mixture of longing and surprise in her voice.

The dark-haired woman looked at the end of the bed where Rell’s eyes were now firmly focused. Leaning against the horizontal wooden bar was the staff Rell had been using. Next to it, hanging from the post was the sheathed sword.

"You don’t suppose they followed us home, do you?"

"Even if they did, we’re not keeping them," Diana replied, using one elbow to push herself higher in the bed.

"I can’t see why not," Ardeen said, pulling aside the leather curtain covering the door.

Her appearance was so unexpected Rell "eeped" in fright.

Shuffling over to the bed, Ardeen took a long moment to assess the two women before continuing. "They are your weapons, after all, so I can’t see any reason why you shouldn’t have them. Both the sword and the staff have made it quite obvious who they belong to, even if the women concerned aren’t willing to accept them yet," she said, brushing a light finger over the fur at the top of the staff. "Are you going to risk the displeasure of Artemis by denying her clear wish that these weapons be placed in your hands?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Diana threw her best my-way-or-no-way glare at the old woman. She was startled when Ardeen met her glare for glare, and didn’t back down. It was only then that the ex-mercenary realized the Amazon priestess probably had a core of steel the equal of her own, earned by trying to keep her people alive and hidden in an increasingly technological world.

"Okay. We keep them," Diana finally answered, reluctantly. The tall ex-mercenary could see the secretive little smile growing on the old priestess’ face the moment she accepted the weapons. Why do I get the feeling we aren’t being given a choice here? she wondered. What have I got myself into?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several days later, Diana was starting to think wearing the sword was not such a bad thing after all. It certainly changed the way the other women acted towards her. It was as though they hadn’t been sure of how to treat her before, yet with the sword strapped across her back, they now accepted the outsider as one of them. It was a strange feeling to Diana, who was more used to people turning away from her once they knew of her past. She felt a part of herself settling down, as though she belonged among the Amazons.

The day she and Rell had accepted the weapons, Ardeen had all but hustled them from the healing hall and over to a small hut just off the main square of the village. Plain and utilitarian, it suited Diana’s simple tastes completely. All around the series of rooms, there were little touches of color and texture which spoke quietly to Rell, making her feel at home as well. The front entrance opened onto a common room filled with comfortable chairs and cushions - enough to seat several people easily without cluttering the room. Through the common room was their bedroom, with a wide window letting in light and the breezes that blew through the basin. Off the bedroom was a small curtained alcove where the ever-present pot was located. This tidy, and more importantly, private arrangement, convinced even the modest Rell to use it at night. On one side of the common room was a small area they could use to prepare snacks; most of their main meals were taken at the mess hall with the rest of the village. The shelving built against the walls was bare for the moment, though Rell seemed to be gathering quite a collection of little carved knickknacks and molded pottery animals.

Thinking of the stocky reporter drew Diana’s eyes back to the training ground where the short woman was testing her skills against Antigone. It was clear Rell knew how to use her staff, but was still a little slow to react to her opponent; she was still trying to strengthen unused muscles. Most of Diana’s and Rell’s bruises had faded to yellow, but Rell was sporting a brand new black eye after not ducking fast enough from a swift strike from the hunter. Good thing I wasn’t here when that happened, Diana thought to herself. I probably would have killed Antigone without even thinking about it.

Diana felt someone move up beside her to watch the two women as their staffs crashed violently. Only Antigone’s superior strength saved her from losing her weapon altogether. Rell grinned cheekily as she spun away.

"She improves with the speed of the black jaguar," a now familiar voice said quietly. It was a voice both women had gotten to know quite well over the past several days. "Perhaps it is time to see if the night cat screams in your blood too, yes?" Meropa asked hopefully, turning to face the dark-haired woman beside her. "The healer said you could train today, but only a little. She still thinks you are not well enough yet to swing that sword. I think, perhaps, it has been a pain in the butt waiting."

"You’ve been talking to Rell again. Your English is also improving with the speed of that jaguar," Diana replied, laughing. "But yes, it has been a 'pain in the butt' coming up here every day and then only being allowed to watch." Not that watching Rell has been too dull, she thought. In fact, she really is quite beautiful when she starts swinging that staff around.

"Well, let’s hope the pain in your ribs does not slow you too much," Meropa said. "I will be easy on you today, but tomorrow we train as warriors."

Diana snorted in reply, drawing the sword from its sheath on her back. Once again, she was entranced by the sound of the metallic slither as the weapon left the leather. Every time Diana drew the blade she could almost feel the power pulsing up from the earth under her feet and through her body. The niggling ache in her side disappeared from her consciousness, and she felt her awareness heighten just like the first time she’d held the sword. Facing off in front of the Amazon leader, she waited to see what the older woman would use as an opening move.

She sensed the thrust a split second before Meropa made the move and easily parried the blow. Spinning on her toes, she flung out her left fist, striking the older woman just below the ribs as she stumbled past. There was no real force in the punch but if there had been, Meropa would now be gasping for breath. Eyebrows raised respectfully, the Amazon leader was a little more circumspect with her next attack.

They sparred back and forth for several minutes, Meropa quickly deciding, after almost losing her own sword to a lightning fast move, that the healer’s admonishments about being easy on the tall woman were little more than an old woman’s ranting. She made a fast outside turn, bringing her sword over her head in a solid backhanded blow. Meropa was amazed when Diana’s sword blocked the hit, not wavering a hair. She had expected the young woman to simply move out of the way. The stories are true, she thought to herself, backing away from Diana. Two thousand cycles we have waited, but the Warrior Princess has returned, just like the prophecy said she would. Sweet Artemis, I have to be sure though. There’s too much depending on this to be wrong.

Using her eyes, Meropa caught the attention of several women now standing around watching. Placing them in a circle with a tilt of her head, the Amazon leader came at the dark-haired woman again. Using Meropa’s charge as their signal, the rest of the women lunged forward at the same time.

Rell had stood to one side with Antigone, watching the session between Diana and Meropa until the warriors began circling the tall woman.

"Hey! That’s not fair," she snapped at the Amazon by her side. "Diana still has a broken rib."

Antigone simply shrugged her shoulders, not understanding, though Rell’s meaning was pretty clear from the way she was bristling at the sight of all the women swinging their weapons towards the center of the circle.

Coming in from behind, Rell whipped the legs out from under two of the warriors, nimbly jumping their prone bodies to push her way into the circle with Diana.

Diana found herself in the center of a circle of flashing blades as warriors attacked from all sides. In a quick-silver blur of motion, she was defending against the concentrated push of the other women. Her heightened awareness warned her of approaching strikes, managing to deflect them moments before they would have gotten through. Spinning and ducking, she almost laughed as women found themselves tangling the blades of their companions in an effort to get to her. Her awareness of her surroundings suddenly told her of a body standing right behind her.

"Are we having fun yet?" Rell suddenly asked from behind, the sound of a blade cracking loudly against her staff.

"Don’t know about you, but I certainly am," Diana replied, blocking a lunge before lightly tossing her opponent through the circle and onto the ground, where the woman had the good sense to stay.

"Okay, just so long as you’re enjoying yourself," the stocky reporter commented, swiping a weapon from another woman’s hand. The disarmed warrior decided backing off might be a good idea.

Word of what was happening on the training ground had spread like wildfire, bringing warriors from every corner of the village, weapons drawn. In less than fifteen minutes, there wasn’t a single Amazon left standing, Meropa included. Rell and Diana stood where they had been defending themselves, covered in sweat and breathing hard. To outside appearances, the fight had been quite savage but no real damage had been done. The worst of the injuries were the odd bloody nose or painful bruise.

Ardeen, having heard the sound of many swords clashing violently, had hurried as fast as her old bones would allow to see what all the noise was about. Spotting the circle of warriors surrounding Rell and Diana, the Amazon priestess leaned against the fence and waited for it to finish. Once it had, and warriors were starting to pull themselves back to their feet, she crossed to Meropa.

"Didn’t believe me when I told you they are the Chosen of Artemis, did you?" she said pointedly. "No, you had to test them yourself." Helping Meropa to her feet, she looked her in the eye, ignoring the bright crimson flow dripping off her chin from a bloody nose. "Now do you believe who they are?"

"I just had to make sure, Ardeen. It has been two thousand cycles, after all. I mean…"

"It’s okay, my old friend. Change comes hard after so long. They had to be tested in combat sooner or later. I just wish you had let me know that today was going to be the day," the old priestess replied gently. "Come on. Let’s get that nose of yours seen to. I just hope it isn’t broken."

Looking back over her shoulder towards the two outsiders standing closely together chatting quietly, she commented, "It was worth it, Old One." Turning to face Ardeen again, she continued, "Invite them by for eve-meal tonight. I think it’s time they knew."

Nodding in agreement, the old priestess assisted the slightly dazed leader from the training ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There, that should hold it," Rell said, tightly knotting the woven fiber dressing around Diana’s fractured rib. "At least until you decide to do that deadly ballet of yours again. I just wish we’d thought to bring some of the electroplast with us before we climbed into the tunnel."

"Oh, this stuff isn’t too bad," the tall woman commented, levering herself up on the bed.

"But it doesn’t stick, and every time you breathe too deeply, it gets loose again. How is your rib going to get any support if the damned strapping is forever slipping down to your waist," Rell almost wailed, before jumping up from the side of the bed. Pacing over to the window, she looked out at the greenery that had been encouraged to grow right up to the walls of the hut, hiding any other buildings from view.

"God, Diana. I’d give just about anything for something as simple as a bloody safety pin," she snorted, annoyed. "Or a zipper, or even a cup of that awful instant coffee they serve on airplanes."

"You sound a little homesick," the taller woman observed quietly.

"No. I’m not a little homesick, Diana. I’m a LOT homesick. I miss reading the paper at the start of the day, or being able to call someone on the phone. I miss shouting at the evening news on television, or eating a chili dog so spicy my eyes water. I miss the sound of traffic as I go to sleep at night and the smell of fresh smog when I wake up in the morning. I miss a bathroom with a real door, and a toilet that flushes, and a hot and cold running shower. I even miss tampons; here, all we have is that moss stuff," Rell explained, her voice thick with suppressed tears. "I miss having choices here," she whispered to herself.

"Rell, you’ve been away from home before, sometimes for several months. Why get homesick now?" Diana asked.

Turning to face the dark-haired woman, Rell snarled angrily, "When I was away from home before, I wasn’t away from all the civilized things at the same time. Everything here is so bloody primitive I’m surprised they’ve survived this long. You might be used to living in the middle of a damned jungle where the closest you get to civilized behavior is remembering to eat with a fork, but I’m fucking well not!"

The other woman quickly rose to her feet, wrapping her strong arms around the angry and upset woman. Gently kissing her on the top of her head, she mumbled, "It’ll be all right, Rell. You’ll see."

Shoving Diana’s arms away and moving back, Rell shouted in raw fury, "NO! IT’S NOT GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT UNTIL I GET BACK TO THE REAL WORLD AND AWAY FROM THIS FANTASY STUCK IN THE PAST!" Turning abruptly, snatching up her staff as she passed the door, Rell stormed off into the night, the waves of pure rage radiating ahead of her, clearing the path until she was well up the gently sloping wall of the volcanic basin.

The dark-haired woman watched Rell’s progress through the village until she was out of sight. The hurt and confusion in her eyes not being remarked upon by the few people close enough to see her standing forlornly in the doorway. Turning back to the common room, she strapped the sword to her back in well-practiced movements, while trying to think of how to diplomatically make excuses for Rell’s absence at dinner tonight. Leaving the hut, she glanced towards the rim of the basin, catching one last glimpse of Rell’s silhouette against the deep purple-black sky as the stubborn little reporter crossed the top of the ridge. Sighing deeply, Diana started walking towards the leader’s hut and what promised to be a less than comfortable dinner with Meropa and Ardeen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Entering the leader’s home with Meropa, Diana was surprised to see the young Amazon trainee, Leda, efficiently clearing away a fourth place setting at the small table. Glancing at the older woman, Diana raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"She was rather noisy when she left," Meropa said, dropping her head for a moment. "For someone who appears so sweet-natured, she certainly has quite the temper."

"Rell just needs to be alone for a little while," the tall woman offered by way of explanation. "So much has happened over the past few weeks that I was kinda expecting her to blow a lot earlier than this." To be completely truthful, Diana hadn’t been expecting anything of the sort. She had simply assumed Rell was as comfortable with the village lifestyle as she felt herself. It wasn’t like they could go anywhere while her rib was still healing. The irrational anger associated with Rell’s homesickness had taken her totally by surprise.

"Perhaps, all she needs is time. It is a difficult step she is being asked to take," Meropa replied cryptically.

Diana’s eyebrow rose again in another silent question, but before she had an opportunity to ask for an explanation, Ardeen walked slowly into the common room, feet dragging slightly. Her arms were filled, almost to overflowing, with rolled bundles of paper-like material. The taller woman jumped forward to catch several before they slipped from the old woman’s arms.

"Thank you, child," she said gratefully. "I didn’t realize I was going to need so many of these tonight," Ardeen continued, shooting a look at the Amazon leader.

"You’d probably fit the entire lot on a single floppy," Diana offered, without really thinking about what she was saying.

"A single floppy what?" both older women questioned together.

Diana laughed, suddenly realizing no one here had ever seen a computer, much less knew what one was. "Oh, it’s something from the outside, a computer. You might find it useful for storing all kinds of things in," she explained.

"Like grain or fleece?" Meropa asked, always looking for ways to increase their storage capacity.

"Ummm, no. More like information. Like these paper things, for example."

"It’s something we might look into later," Ardeen said amicably, dropping the rest of her scrolls onto the table. Glancing about quickly, she decided not to say anything about Rell’s absence, having heard her shouting from the antechamber of the temple. "For the moment, we will just have to use these to explain the prophecy, and everything else," she continued, indicating the pile of scrolls.

As Meropa came around the table, she raised her own eyebrow at the old priestess. Change was one thing, but she thought Ardeen might be going too far to want something like a com-put-er in the village. They had survived quite nicely without whatever it was, so there wasn’t any need to change things that much, prophecy or no prophecy.

"You know about the prophecy?" Diana gasped.

"Who do you think left it, and the journey chronicles, on Illha de Maraca in the first place? Of course we know about the prophecy," Ardeen replied archly, dropping her aching body into a chair. "Put your jaw back on it’s hinge, Diana, and sit down. We can explain everything while we eat."

Hesitating for a moment, and wishing more than ever that Rell had not stormed off so angrily, Diana lowered herself into a chair. She had known these were the women spoken of in the journey chronicles, but with so much happening in the village, and between herself and Rell, she’d barely had time to think it through. She certainly hadn’t thought beyond what would happen once she’d found the Amazons and fulfilled the prophecy. So much for remaining completely focussed, she mused, picking up her spoon. Listening carefully as the explanation progressed, Diana barely noticed what she was eating. Meropa and Ardeen slowly answered all the questions she had carried in her mind for so long.

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Centuries before, there really had been a warrior woman named Xena, who traveled with a storyteller. The bard, Gabrielle, had been crowned an Amazon princess after trying to save the life of the Queen’s sister. Although she had failed in her attempt, the Right of Caste had been passed to her. The bard honored the memory of the Queen’s sister by accepting her role in the Nation, even though she was young and untried as a warrior. A few years later, the bard found herself as Queen of the Amazon Nation after the first Queen had been killed in single combat. Somehow, Gabrielle had arranged for one of the other warriors to act as Regent in her place so she could continue to travel with Xena.

More years passed. Finally the warrior decided it was time to stop traveling and settle in one place. That place had been among the Amazons. Accepting her position as the Queen’s Consort, she helped Gabrielle rule the Nation peacefully until their deaths. Oddly enough, they had died within a single day of each other. The legend said it was because they couldn’t stand to be separated, not even by death.

Just before Xena and Gabrielle passed beyond, a priestess had foreseen the demise of the Amazon Nation. The cause would be internal strife and the political machinations of some warriors desiring to take the Mask of Queen as their own, even though a successor had been fairly chosen. To try to keep the spirit of the Nation alive, Xena and Gabrielle arranged for small, hand-picked groups of Amazons to be scattered like seeds to the four winds, taking up residence in new homes in the farthest corners of the world.

One group that was to travel over the edge of the world and into the unknown, was given the sword and staff of the Queen and Consort. The group was given a series of prophecies and instructions; one prophecy was to be left on an island near to where the Amazons moved inland. The group then headed for a volcanic basin seen by the priestess in a vision dream. The journey chronicles were also to be left with the prophesy on the island so when the spirit of the warrior was ready to return, she would know who she was and how to find the remnants of the Amazon Nation in the trackless depths of the jungle.

But the prophecy left on the island had a condition placed upon it; only when the spirit of the warrior was reunited with the spirit of the bard, would both be able to pass through the Portal of Birth and return to their rightful place among the Amazons. Once there, the Nation would again thrive and grow as it had all those centuries before.

"And I am a direct descendant of this warrior, Xena?" Diana asked in wonder.

"You don’t seem to understand, child," Ardeen answered. "To us, to this small fragment of the Amazon Nation, you are Xena. Her spirit is your spirit. How would you explain your ease with that sword when you have never held such a weapon?" the priestess pointed out logically.

"You’re right in assuming I’d never used a sword before this week but…" she started, then was struck with another thought. "Does this mean that Rell is supposed to carry Gabrielle’s spirit?" she asked.

"Yes. And in time, she will take my place as leader of the Nation. The Amazons will have a true Queen again," Meropa replied, happily.

"You sound almost pleased with the idea," Diana commented, trying to take in everything she’d heard.

"I’m not looking forward to laying my responsibilities aside when the time comes for me to pass over, but to hand the fate of the Nation to one such as our Queen does give my old heart a lot of joy," the Amazon leader said seriously. "We have been slowly dying here in the basin. No men have come anywhere near our usual hunting grounds for many cycles now, and to move any further out in search of them would expose us to far too much danger. We left as many guideposts as possible to help you and your soulmate find us, but we were not permitted to help you until you found us yourselves. This was part of the testing Artemis decided you needed before your arrival."

"The rhyme I have been hearing for years!" Diana suddenly realized. "Those were the sign posts you were leaving for me."

Meropa and Ardeen nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I found my way to the plateau but until I brought Rell with me, how did you get me back to my campsite without my knowing about it?" the tall woman asked suspiciously.

Ardeen looked at Meropa before answering. "The pool on the plateau where you would drink," she said.

Diana looked confused, not quite understanding what the old priestess meant.

"There is sap from a certain tree that grows in the jungle," Ardeen explained. "As soon as a scout spotted you climbing up to the plateau, we would pour a little into the water. Not enough to cloud it, as too much would have killed you. We would put in just enough to make you sleep deeply for a few days. Then a small group of hunters and warriors would carry you through the trees back to your starting point."

"But that’s over two weeks away from here," the tall woman exclaimed.

"Cutting your way through the jungle overland, maybe. Through the branches, we can do the same journey in a matter of days. There are no faster travelers than Amazons moving through the tree tops," Meropa said with some pride.

"Okay, with all your prophecies and plotting," Diana said, eyeing both women distrustfully, "What does it all mean to Rell and me in the end?"

"Exactly as we have stated. You both have a place here with us…Rell as our Queen and you as her Consort. What is left of the Nation is slowly dying, and only with the hope you have given us, will we survive," Meropa said quietly. "We are asking you to stay."

"I need…I need to think about that for a while," the tall woman replied, stunned. Part of her had been expecting the offer, but it was still a surprise to hear the old leader make it so clear. After so long with no real home, no real purpose in her life, except to try to make up for her darkly shrouded past, it was almost too much for Diana to accept. A real home, with people who need my help and experience. If only Rell were here right now, she thought.

"We have waited over two thousand cycles for you to come home to us, Diana. We can wait a little longer," Ardeen said gently, patting the dazed woman’s arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rell scrambled down the side of the basin, skidding along the path with no thought of her own safety. The guards and scouts who heard her coming knew she was angry, and had enough sense to stay completely out of sight. The reporter eventually found herself on a narrow, winding track, the beaten earth barely visible in the moonlight. Following it around, she was surprised when it finally ended on the rock overhang under which she and Diana had camped some days before. Looking nervously over the edge, she could just make out the small circle of stones Diana had used to contain their fire.

From her position high above the plateau, she could clearly see what was not discernible from the ground below. Looping from both sides of the overhang, tiny trails lead down to the rocky clearing, weaving their hidden way through the jumble of fallen stones and boulders; the one closest to her ended just behind the small pool where she had bathed. If either herself or Diana had moved just a few more paces forward, they would have spotted the trail, and an easier way up to the top.

"So much for nearly killing ourselves in that bloody tunnel. These tracks are so well hidden, it’s as though somebody wanted us to take the tunnel," she muttered to herself. Following the path down, using her staff to balance on the steeper parts, Rell made her slow and careful way to the campsite. After her flying descent from the rim, the reporter decided she’d tempted fate quite enough for one night.

"I guess they have someone watching, so I’m probably safe here tonight," Rell mumbled. "They’ll pass word back to Diana, letting her know where I am."

Part of her wanted to be back with the other woman, but a louder part was telling her to run. Everything that had been happening over the past several days had left her feeling she had lost control over her own destiny. Rell felt she had struggled too hard and too long for independence, and she wasn’t about to give up that freedom for anything, perhaps not even to remain with Diana.

Sighing deeply, she sank down next to the cold ashes from the fire, trying to make sense of what had really been happening with her since meeting the tall woman. The constant breeze over the plateau soon had her heading for the packs hidden in the dark corner under the overhang. In the days she had spent in the protected confines of the volcanic basin, she had forgotten the icy evening chill of the plateau. She pulled out what she needed from her pack. Then she quickly built a cheerful fire and had the beginnings of a meal heating over the flames. Rell knew it wasn’t going to taste nearly as good as the food in the village, but she simply didn’t care. She just wanted to get something hot and reasonably nourishing into her body.

Seated on her sleeping bag, Rell stared miserably into the leaping flames and tried to think. It wasn’t being homesick that had set off her temper. She had merely used that to cover what she had really been feeling - the undeniable sensation of someone trying to control her decisions about her future.

"I’m not really feeling the least bit homesick. Diana was right; I’m not home enough to miss anything there," she snorted. "Though I do miss some things, a little."

Looking out over the night dark jungle, she realized the days they had spent traveling together were the happiest she could remember. It didn’t matter that she had been constantly aching with desire for Diana; just being in her company had filled a need in her soul. Then to have her longings fulfilled had made for one of the most magical nights of her life. Remembering that evening together on the plateau caused a tightening deep in her center. Sighing again, pushing the memories away. She briefly stirred the branches in the fire.

From the moment she had crawled into the tunnel with Diana, Rell had felt she’d somehow lost control of her life. Thinking about it, she realized it had probably started long before, when Diana had contracted her for the assignment. They had been weeks into the trip by the time the other woman had gotten around to telling Rell about the prophecy and what it meant to her. That still irritated the reporter a little. Plus, she was still angry at the way the other woman had kept so much of her past hidden.

For whatever reason, Diana seemed to have slipped into the lifestyle of the Amazons as though she had been born to it. Her years in the jungle, and as a mercenary meant she did have something to offer the women of the village. The dark-haired woman could easily become an Amazon warrior and earn her place among them. Surely that would be better for her than the near purposeless life she had been leading, attempting to make up for her supposed dark past.

"She’s safer with the Amazons than just about anywhere else I can think of," Rell said to herself, hoping that was what the woman would decide to do. Despite her anger, she did want to see the other woman living in a safe place.

As for Rell, almost from the moment they had entered the jungle, she felt as though someone else was calling the shots, and she didn’t know what was happening until it was too late. The independent voice inside struggled with the idea of handing any part of her life over to an outside force. Through the years, Rell had taken responsibility for her own decisions, her own destiny, and living with the consequences afterwards.

Staring out toward the dark horizon, Rell decided she had to return to civilization before it was too late, before whatever was trying to control her future made it irrevocable. "I’ve got a life out there," she whispered. "A good one, where I earn a decent living and can actually make a difference now and then."

It meant leaving Diana behind, along with a very large part of her heart, but Rell would not, could not allow anyone to control her life or her destiny. Not even a force she didn’t understand, one she barely knew anything about. She had always chosen her own path and she was stubbornly determined to continue doing so, no matter what the cost. The moment she made the decision, she dissolved into bitter tears, eventually crying herself to sleep.

High overhead, stretched flat against the rock, two warriors looked sadly into each other’s eyes after seeing the little reporter drop into a tearful sleep. The question had been asked and now Rell and Diana were going to pay the price. Ardeen had told them to expect something like this, though how the old priestess knew was a mystery to both of them. Moving silently in the darkness, past a restlessly sleeping Rell, they made their way to the bottom of the mountain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How long do you think it’s going to take, Ardeen?" Diana asked, subdued.

"A moon, a cycle…maybe never. We can only hope and pray she will be able to accept her destiny before it is too late for the Amazon Nation," the old priestess replied gently.

Diana stared out over the forest from her shared perch on the rim. Lying in bed after learning her true heritage, there had been no question in her heart about whether she would stay with the Amazons. Being in the village and living with the Amazon women just felt right, like a dislocated bone suddenly slipping back into place.

She had lain awake until dawn, waiting for the blonde to return so they could talk about their futures. When she learned Rell had left the plateau, dressed in her heavy jungle clothing, the tall woman had wanted to go after the little reporter immediately. Diana had been shocked to find a large party of fully armed warriors waiting outside her home. Their direct orders from the old priestess were to keep the tall woman in the village no matter what. The Amazons were not keeping Diana prisoner, but they wouldn’t allow her to follow Rell either.

Ardeen herself had faced the angry woman as she paced back and forth across the common room of the hut she’d shared with Rell. It had taken the old woman most of the day, but Diana eventually understood the reporter had to accept her role with the Amazons freely.

"I’m going to miss her while she’s gone," Diana commented, sighing deeply. "I miss her already."

"The heartache you both endure is a high price to pay, child," Ardeen replied. Looking into the tall woman’s ice blue eyes, she added, "Artemis never asks more from us than we are capable of giving. Though I sense the journey your soulmate is about to take will be harder on her than it is you."

"Are you sure she’ll be alright out there on her own?" Diana questioned, worry shadowing her eyes. "She has her staff and all, but that won’t be much use against a panther or some other large predator."

"She unknowingly travels between Latona and Antigone. One clears the path ahead so she will not lose her way, and the other watches from behind to protect her from danger. Once she is safely back at your clearing, they will return here. That is all we can do until Rell realizes she truly is Queen of the Amazon Nation. Her destiny has called, Diana, and she is trying to fight its urging. How Rell fights that battle with herself is up to her, but she cannot fight her destiny. She will either return to us, or die," the old woman answered.

"I realize that it’s best I stay away from her, but I have some friends on the outside who can keep an eye on her. You know, to see she doesn’t get herself too far into trouble. Can I do that much, at least?" Diana asked hopefully.

Patting the tall woman on the leg as she sat beside her, Ardeen replied, "Give it a few moons, child, and then set your watchers on her. She may not appreciate any assistance they offer but it will give us a little more time."

The two women sat silently watching the moon rising over the forest canopy, engrossed in their own thoughts. The night breeze brought with it the scent of flowers blooming under the moonlight. Ardeen looked over at the worried face of the young woman next to her.

"Help an old woman back to the village, Diana, and I’ll tell you some of the old tales of the Amazon Nation," she said, a cheeky smile lighting her wrinkled face.

"As if I need bribery," the tall woman snorted. Climbing to their feet, they made their way back down the basin wall towards the village. Diana cast one last look over the forest before helping the old priestess along the path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A short, well toned, red-blonde photojournalist stared out at the icy rain trying to beat its way through the dirty window behind her shared desk. Trying to keep her mind blank, she ran her fingers over the soft leather breast band she always carried in one jacket pocket. Like an aching tooth, she couldn’t help prodding at her last memories of the jungle and the day she left the plateau.

She’d woken the morning after deciding she had to return to civilization, still alone in the clearing, her fire burnt down to embers. Some part of her soul had hoped Diana would come looking for her, perhaps convincing her to remain there. But no, Rell wanted to be back in control of her own destiny again and that meant leaving the jungle, the Amazons, and Diana forever.

Changing out of the short leather skirt and back into heavy jungle clothing was like becoming someone else, someone she barely recognized. Borrowing the plastic- coated map from Diana’s pack, Rell had begun the lonely, often tearful journey back to their original campsite and the huge Land Rover.

The trip back to the vehicle had taken longer than anticipated, but at no point did Rell ever feel she was losing her way. Between the map, and following the paths Diana had cut on their journey in, she was soon back at her starting point. Rell had to admit that some of those trails looked suspiciously like they had been freshly cleared, but the reporter assumed she wasn’t the only one traveling through the jungle. After all, Diana had told her about the big man, Hunk, who occasionally still moved from place to place, helping out various people where he could. Rell eventually decided he had re-cut the paths, making it a little easier for her to find her way back.

On her arrival in the US, Rell was surprised to discover that the contract fee had been paid into her bank account the day after she and Diana had left. The entire twenty-five thousand was there, plus the extra ten, though Rell didn’t feel she had earned a penny of it. It didn’t stop her from taking the money. She simply chose to ignore the guilty voice telling her she should find some way to return it. In her heart, Rell knew returning the money would also mean contacting the other woman, and she wasn’t ready deal with the rush of emotions that would cause. Rell was not sure she ever would be.

In truth, she didn’t have a single photo to show for the time she had spent in the jungle. Several days into the trip back, she had dug out every roll of film she’d taken, and exposed them to the midday sun, ruining them. Just to be absolutely sure, she had built a small fire and tossed every roll into it, one at a time. Rell had hoped by destroying the film she could also wipe out her memories of everything that had happened.

The only things she had brought out of the jungle, aside from her cameras, were the clothes she had worn at the Amazon village and her staff. She had tried several times to get rid of that as well, but she changed her mind at the last moment every time. For now, it was leaning against the wall of her little apartment until she decided what she was going to do. That had been almost a full year ago.

Sighing, she turned back towards her desk and looked over her assignment sheet for the day. Grunting, she mumbled to herself. "Oh happy, happy, joy, joy. Three ribbon cuttings, a flower show and a baby born on the freeway. Surely there are better pictures to take?"

Rell knew she was lucky to even have her job after the way she had screwed up. A great deal of the money she’d earned from her South American trip had been poured down her throat in one monumental bender. Her fellow journalists, many of them recipients of free drinks from Rell’s bottomless pockets, assumed she had finally lost her nerve after being in the jungle too long. They figured she was attempting to wipe some terrible memory completely from her mind.

They were only half-right.

Rell was trying to forget an endlessly deep pair of sky blue eyes and the effect they had on her heart. Eyes that followed her into her drunken dreams and haunted her during the day whenever she was barely sober enough to think straight.

Sal had found her five months after her return, drunk, almost completely broke and rapidly sinking into the shadier sections of life. He had spent another three months drying her out and getting her sadly abused body back to some semblance of health. It had been a rocky recovery for her. Rell was grateful she had thought to leave her camera equipment in her apartment before setting off to drink herself senseless for as long as the money lasted. She probably would have sold her precious cameras for the price of a drink by the time Sal had come looking for her.

He never did reveal how he found Rell, but she eventually remembered to thank him once she’d stopped cursing him. She was also grateful, in her own surly way, for his solid presence when she woke from the sweat-soaked dreams she began having when she became sober again. Dreams of endless forest in every shade of green she could imagine. Dreams of shady jungle streams and the feeling of cool water sluicing over an overheated body. Dreams of strongly perfumed flowers drifting their scent on soft breezes in the night. The scents and sights of the jungle filled her sleeping mind, no longer numbed by alcohol, until she woke trembling with the effort to ignore the siren call in her soul.

When finally she was strong enough to go back to work, Sal pulled every string he had to get her another job. With her reputation having gone the same way as the money, it was not easy. Freelancing was out of the question for the time being, until she had rebuilt her reputation and bank account, so she was forced to take a staff position with a city paper. It was the only option open to her at the time. A journalist who’s supposedly lost her nerve is generally seen as useless to most newspapers, yet the overweight little man somehow convinced the editor to give Rell a chance to prove herself again. She hadn’t let them down yet, working so hard that she often didn‘t know what day it was. Rell had to admit, she was now getting tired of doing the junior assignments any first year photographer could have done.

Standing up, Rell swept a couple of extra rolls of film into her camera bag, not that she would really need them. She may have blown her reputation to kingdom come while on that five month drinking spree, but she still had a finely developed eye for a good photo, a picture capable of telling a story without needing words. Looping the strap over her shoulder, she stepped around her desk, brushing passed the edge of the cubicle she shared with another photojournalist.

"Damn," she muttered loudly. "Forgot the bloody sheet."

She spun around quickly and snatched the assignment sheet from the desktop, stuffing it into her pocket. Turning again, not looking where she was going, Rell ran straight into someone’s chest, bouncing off a soft, yet muscular body.

"God, I’m sorry. I wasn’t…" she started to say and then looked up into the gently smiling face of the person in front of her.

A pair of sky blue eyes looked back at the reporter from above high cheekbones on a face framed by long, jet-black hair. Tanned and healthy, looking even more devastatingly beautiful than Rell remembered, Diana was dressed in a yet another expensive pantsuit, the long fingers on her graceful hands reaching out to steady the other woman as she stumbled backwards.

Rell was struck utterly speechless as she let the camera bag slip from her shoulder. She had no idea what to say. For a year the reporter had tried to forget. Five months of constant, sodden drinking had not wiped Diana from Rell’s memory. Three months of cursing out the fat little agent from London had not changed how she felt. Four months of working herself into the ground, until she was too exhausted to even see the photo she was taking had not changed what she knew to be the truth. She had been so confused when she’d left the jungle, part of her wanting to stay, another part screaming that she couldn’t permit anyone to control her destiny. She had felt so very empty when Sal had finally dried her out again, as though some important part of her had been mislaid.

Now Diana stood before her, after so many months apart, like some image out of her dreams. And Rell still didn’t know what to say to her.

"It’s time to come home, Rell. Your people need you," Diana said, the low, almost sensuous rumble of her voice vibrating through the other woman.

The vibration continued to echo deeply in the stocky reporter’s soul, ultimately unlocking the final fragment of memory she had unknowingly tried to forget - a memory locked in her mind from the moment she picked up the Staff of Gabrielle for the first time in over two thousand years.

"My people?" Rell mumbled as the knowledge of who she was came floating to the surface. "Yes, my people. They need their Queen, don’t they? Meropa has finally stepped through to the other side. They’ll need me now more than ever." Acceptance, like a healing balm, soothed over the pain of the past year, making everything feel right inside again.

Diana nodded quietly, stepping closer to wrap her aching arms around the woman she had missed so much. "Welcome home, Gabrielle," she whispered, before slowly drawing her into a gentle kiss.

"I’ve missed you too, Xena," the shorter woman managed to reply before her lips were willingly claimed.

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The End…..Maybe.

* The Harpy Eagle is currently an endangered species. They are in danger because of the continuing de-forestation of their natural habitat. More information about the Harpy Eagle and other endangered birds of prey can be found at the following site: http://www.peregrinefund.org/WSites.html *

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