Chapter 10

"So, are you going to speak to me at all on this trip?" Xena asked in a tense voice.

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea," Eponin answered.

The two warriors laid their bedrolls on opposite sides of the large campfire, slightly apart from the rest of the group. One of the other experienced hunters noticed the friction between the two earlier in the day, in the way they intentionally avoided one another. She passed the word to a couple of the others and managed to get the students to keep their distance for a spell, at least so they could get through this first night.

"Meaning?" Xena asked through clenched teeth.

Eponin already stretched out on her blanket, watching the stars in the night sky. She sat up to look at Xena, who seated herself on a nearby log.

"Meaning that I can't understand what you're doing out here, babysitting a bunch of students, when you should be home with your wife."

Xena sighed. She knew she would take some hits over the fact that she left Gabrielle at the worst possible time, but she left her in Adia's hands…that was a good thing, wasn't it? It made perfect sense to the warrior. Xena knew one thing in her heart…she still loved her wife. It was her head, the logical part of her brain, that seemed as if it were under another's control. It was causing her to think and feel things that she knew couldn't be true. Her brain made such good arguments regarding those thoughts, though. Her mind reasoned and the answer sounded plausible, it was simply that Xena felt almost…manipulated. Since she couldn't narrow anything down, beyond a vague feeling of unease, she took it all as a part of her own grief.

"You don't understand everything that's gone on," Xena replied.

"I know that, Xena, and whether you want to admit it or not, I know you're hurting, but Gods, Gabrielle is hurting too. I just don't get why you wouldn't want to be there for her."

"I don't understand it either," the warrior said softly. Xena lowered her head and stared at her own hands in the yellow glow of the campfire. "We're going through…it's pretty private, Ep. I don't know if it would be right for me to talk about it. I don't know if Gabrielle would want anyone to know. I just knew that it was the kind of thing that we needed to be apart for a little while to get a new perspective on."

"Do you still love her?"

"Of course I still love her!" Xena exclaimed, bringing her head up quickly. "What kind of question is that?"

"Sorry, I just…well, you know I don't know anything about women in that way or being married or anything. Hades, I count myself lucky that I can get laid once or twice a season," the Amazon said dryly. "It's just that…well, you know…I get kinda protective when it comes to Gabrielle."

"I never would have noticed," Xena said. The warrior grinned over at the Amazon and Eponin felt embarrassed enough to lower her head to stare into the flames of the fire.

Xena realized something that she forgot on occasion. The fact that Gabrielle not only had loyal subjects in her Amazons, but that more than a few of them were enamored of her lovely wife. It helped that Gabrielle never had eyes for anyone other than the Warrior Princess, but Xena knew that if anything ever happened to her, Gabrielle would never lack for a suitable mate.

The warrior shook that thought from her head. "I know you care for her, Ep, I do too. Trust me when I say I need this time. I wouldn't be any good to Gabrielle, in fact I feel like I would have done more harm than good if I stayed with her in the village."

Eponin nodded her head. If the Amazon didn't completely understand her friend's reasoning; it was apparent that Xena was struggling from within over it. She'd never known the warrior to make a decision in haste. Xena most definitely had the look of a tortured woman on her face.

"Hey," the Amazon said quietly. "I'll be here when you want to talk, Xena."

"Thanks, Ep." Xena offered up a small smile in relief.

"Well, I can still think of a reason you should have stayed back in the village," the Amazon said seriously, lying back on her blanket.

"What?" Xena tensed for her friend's next words.

"You snore so damn loud, you're liable to scare away all the game," Eponin said matter of factly.

Xena stood and nudged her boot at the prone woman's backside. "I do not snore!" Xena said.

The warrior walked away, content that she at least had things settled a bit with Eponin. The warrior in her hated these kinds of emotional confrontations, preferring to settle things with as little talk as possible. Gabrielle did the sensitive chats.

She thought of her wife and the first time Xena broached the subject of sensitive chats with Gabrielle. The warrior lay back upon her own blanket, staring in to the sky. She smiled into the dark as her mind's eye filled with the vision of Gabrielle, thinking Xena quite mad, just as the flying parchment fell from the sky and nailed the young woman. The warrior chuckled aloud, looking at the stars, just as she and Gabrielle did every night when it was warm enough to camp out of doors.

Up before sunrise, it turned out to be a long day for the young hunters. By midday, some of the younger ones were lying in their bedrolls, exhausted. A couple of the older Amazons took down an elk apiece, putting everyone in a good mood. At least they were in the right spot and the rumors of the elk herd were true.

Xena was able to keep her mind busy, teaching the younger girls the subtle nuances of tracking, the kind of things that took more than skill. She taught them that technique and skill would take you far, but natural ability and your own instincts would carry home the prize.

The warrior watched the girls work together within her small group. More often than not, Sali, a tall, hulking young girl, became the butt of their jokes. At first, Xena thought the silent girl slow witted, never having interacted with her before. Sali would simply smile slightly and lower her head in embarrassment at the other girls' attempts to humiliate her. Xena shook her head, keeping a protective eye on the tall Amazon. It turned out, however, Sali needed little help in tracking, and she was already an above average hunter for a girl her age. It still saddened the warrior, always amazed at the ways people could be cruel to one another.

So, besides being a teacher, Xena felt like she'd suddenly become a mother too. No matter what the dark-haired woman said to the girls, no matter how many times she explained, she couldn't get the students to call her by name. She now knew how embarrassed and frustrated her wife became at being called ‘Your Highness' all day. Given her babysitting chores for the day, Xena was exhausted when her body hit her bedroll. The warrior who single-handedly held off the Persian army was coming close to defeat at the hands of seven wide-eyed, not-so-very innocent Amazons.

A few girls giggled and whispered in the darkness of night.

"I am waking you before sunrise tomorrow, so I advise you all to close your eyes!" Xena said to no one in particular.

The warrior heard Eponin's muffled laughter. Xena simply rolled over, muttering words about the difference between glorified babysitters and hunters. It was a long time before sleep finally claimed the Warrior Princess. Her dreams were filled of unsettling visions and her heart was filled with a disturbing feeling of dread for her wife.

**********

"All right, you've each received your instructions from Eponin," Xena went over the directions for the day's exercise, one more time.

"Your Highness, perhaps you should go over it one more time," a young student asked sweetly. "I mean, for Sali's sake…she never gets things the first time around."

Muffled laughter filtered around the group. Xena watched as Sali lowered her head, seemingly enthralled with the dust on her boots.

"Perhaps you should keep your mind on your own map, Talissa. You worry about yourself and let me do the worrying for the rest of the group," Xena said in a tightly controlled voice. The warrior had to keep reminding herself that these were students, but her temper was understandably short these days.

"Choose partners and head out in the direction your map indicates. Collect all the information required by your map and return to the camp by nightfall. It's going to be a long day and this is no contest, so take your time and be careful," Xena instructed.

The young students were embarking on a daylong journey through the woods, in an area that few of them ever traveled before. They weren't aware of the fact that the older Amazons were taking time out from the hunt to keep an eye on the younger girls. ‘Watch without being seen' was Xena's directive, step in only when injury or illness threatens. It would be one of the few chances the girls would have, to lose themselves in the wildness of the forest, while still being this protected by their elders.

"Your Highness, we're a person short." Talissa said, standing before Xena. "You could be my partner, though."

Xena was becoming more and more certain, that Talissa probably wasn't known as the nicest girl in her class. She was manipulative and unkind, two things Xena couldn't tolerate.

"Sorry, kid, but Sali already asked me to be her partner."

"What? Her?" the girl exclaimed, as if offended.

Sali looked as surprised as the other girls in the group did. "Me?" she asked Xena with surprise.

"Let's go," Xena said. "Everyone, remember to be back by nightfall."

Xena walked off with a stunned Sali by her side. Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the group, Xena looked down at the girl, who wasn't that much shorter than she was.

"Have you got your map? You'll do most of the work, but I'll point you in the right direction."

"Oh, yes. It's right here, your Highness," Sali said, unrolling the parchment she'd received.

Xena stopped her movement and put an arm around the young girl's shoulder. "Okay, kiddo, here's the deal…you will earn major points with me by calling me Xena, instead of my title, okay?"

"But, your Hi--I mean, Xena," the girl quickly recovered, "my mother said I must always treat you and the Queen with respect, that I should always use your titles. She said it would be disrespectful to address you any other way."

Xena sighed. It was going to be difficult to challenge a mother. "And your mother is teaching you properly, I admire that," she responded as they walked along a slightly beaten down animal trail. "What do you call my wife, when you see her?"

"I say, ‘hello, Queen Gabrielle' or I call her, ‘your Majesty,' just like mom said."

"Uh huh. And what does Gabrielle do when she hears that?" Xena asked.

Sali giggled. "She rolls her eyes a lot."

"Do you know why we act like that?"

Sali shook her head back and forth.

"Because we don't really expect our friends to use our titles. Friends should only have to use our names…kind of casual like." Xena answered the young girl.

"Do you mean me? That I'm your friend?" Sali asked in wonder.

Xena felt a twinge of sorrow for the girl. Somewhere along the line, her height had made her an outcast, an easy target for childish teasing and pranks. She acted as if she didn't know what it was like to have friends.

"Yea," she answered with a smile. "That's just what I mean. Are you interested?"

"Yes!" Sali answered quickly. The youngster never had anyone ask her to be a friend, especially not someone like the Warrior Princess. "The Queen, too? Would she be my friend?"

"Absolutely," Xena chuckled. "Come one…show me how well you can read a map."

"All right, Xena," Sali replied happily.

The girl was better than Xena thought she'd be, leading them to the exact spots marked on the parchment. Sali occasionally stopped to mark down on her parchment the tracks she spied or the important plants and herbs that certain animals fed on. During their relatively silent trip through the forest, Xena noted the happy enthusiasm Sali put into everything she did. It reminded her of her bard.

That's all it took for thoughts of her wife to consume the warrior. Unfortunately for every happy memory she shared with the young Queen, two more unhappy ones popped into her head. Her mind battled back and forth, even through the time when she and Sali rested and had a bite to eat. Xena felt her head and her heart torn into two different directions, lost in her own thoughts until Sali's voice brought her to attention.

"Xena, I've never seen tracks like this."

The warrior looked down at Sali's hand, the girl's fingers spread out beside a paw print, embedded in the soft earth. The print dwarfed the girl's hand.

"It's big," Sali remarked.

Xena spread her own large hand out, just covering the print. "Damn big."

The warrior stood up, hands on her hips, scanning the area, tilting her head, listening to the sounds of the forest around them. She glanced down at the print again, noting, not only its size, but also the deep impression it made in the dirt.

"It's a cat, one big, heavy cat from the looks of those prints," Xena said softly. "Sali, I think we better cut our afternoon short. We should get back to let the others know that we need to keep our guard up."

"Okay, Xena," Sali replied, casting a frightened glance in the warrior's direction.

"Don't worry, you'll have quite a tale to tell the other girls tonight."

Xena gave the young girl's shoulder a squeeze and they made their way back down the same trail they came up. This wasn't anything new for Xena. She'd spent the last six years anticipating trouble and attacking it in such a manner as to protect Gabrielle. She was used to thinking of someone else beside herself in a dangerous situation, but for the last few seasons, Gabrielle had become a consummate warrior herself. It had been quite some time since Xena had to act as guardian or protector to a young woman who couldn't defend herself.

The path widened out and Xena's senses went on full alert. She had that tingling along her spine that warned her of trouble. It was the same feeling she got when she felt she was being watched. She searched the trees around them, seeing nothing. Examining the path closer, she discovered more prints, these coming at them, as if something had been trailing along behind them.

"Stop, Sali," Xena said in a low voice.

The girl froze and Xena thanked the Gods for a well-trained Amazon student. In addition, the warrior sent a silent thank you to the Amazons who instructed the girl.

"You see these prints?" Xena asked. "See what direction they're facing?"

Even as Sali nodded, realization dawned brightly. "They're coming up the trail, facing towards us, not like the others that moved away from us."

"That's right. I have the feeling this cat was ahead of us on the trail and heard us. I think he circled back and was following us," Xena replied.

"Do you think he means to make us dinner?"

Xena was surprised at the calm in the girl's voice.

"Not if I can help it." The warrior grinned at the girl, who grinned back. "Just tell me what to do, Xena."

"I think he's out there, watching us. He could be crouched low or even up in the trees." Xena looked up, trying to see the sky past the dense canopy of trees. "He'll probably wait until the sun goes down and try to catch us outside of camp. He has the advantage in the dark."

"Will we be able to make it back to camp before it's dark, especially if we have to go this slow just to keep track of him?" Sali asked.

"No we won't." Xena looked up at the girl, trying to determine if this was the best course of action. All the concerns in the world didn't much matter, considering that they had no options left. It was the law of the forest out here; either hunt or be hunted.

"The best defense is a good offense," Xena began. We're going to turn the table on this guy, but I'm going to need your help. Do you think you're up to the task?"

"Yes, I am!" the girl stated clearly.

Xena couldn't help but smile. The girl didn't make excuses or say, she would try, she simply said she was up to the task. The Queen didn't know the diamond in the rough she had with this one.

"How good are you with that thing…accuracy wise?" Xena indicated the bow slung across the young woman's back.

"I can hit the center of a target from fifty yards," Sali replied proudly.

"Good. If everything goes according to plan, you won't need it, but if something happens, I want you to let go one arrow and only one. Then I want you to jump into the nearest tree. We'll rig a rope so you're prepared for a fast lift off, but I want you to know something ahead of time. An arrow to the heart of a cat is usually enough to bring him down, but this is one big mother, you can tell by his paw print. It'll take two or three to knock him off his feet, but by that time, he usually has his paws on you."

"What will you be doing?"

"I'm going to try to lure him down the trail. If he's smart he'll take the big meal first, that's me," Xena winked. "When he thinks he has an easy kill, I'll slit his throat with a toss from this." Xena held up the chakram at her side.

"Remember, Sali…If anything at all happens to me, shoot one arrow, and get in the tree. You can nail him from there, but it's best to play it safe and not be a tough guy. Okay?"

"Okay, Xena." The girl nodded her head, suddenly licking dry lips.

"Are you any good in the trees?" Xena asked, tossing the girl's tree harness over a high branch.

"Yes. I just pull on this rope and it will lift me clear," the girl replied.

"You'll do fine," the warrior said before heading up the trail the way they'd just come. "I believe in you."

Even as Xena said the words, she knew why she did. They were the very words that she wished she was able to say to Gabrielle. No matter what. That's what she promised her wife, but then she didn't keep her promise, did she? She wanted to see her wife's face again, simply to tell the small blonde that her warrior believed in her.

Xena lifted her hand and tousled the girl's hair, turning and walking up the sparse trail. Sali watched as the warrior removed her dagger, lifting it and making a quick slice in her own hand. She held the hand away from her body and allowed the blood to flow from the wound, falling onto the ground below. Xena continued to walk away, pausing every twenty yards to allow the blood to drip from her hand. In no time at all, the warrior was out of view and the young Amazon stood alone, her back to a large tree, one arrow notched to her bow.

**********

Xena's keen hearing picked up the cat's low growl and could tell it was pacing in the underbrush. Suddenly the high-pitched scream of the cat echoed through the forest. Xena tilted her head slightly, trying to get a better fix on the animal's exact location. It must have been a trick of the dense forest. She heard the snapping of the underbrush as the cat roamed back and forth, just near the edge of the trail. The smart animal tried to resist being lured out into the open, but the smell of human blood on the path called to the beast.

"Here, kitty-kitty," she whispered under her breath.

Xena hid just off the path, knowing that all she had to do was wait for the animal to give in to its nature, following the scent of the blood. It was moving closer and eventually, she saw the cat slink out of the green growth of the forest. It was much smaller than she thought it would be and was tempted to allow the beast to live to hunt another day. The thought entered her brain too late, however, as the black cat sniffed at the drops of blood on the trail, catching the warrior's scent.

It took only heartbeats for the beast to cover the dozen paces that separated the two. He was in mid air when the blade of the chakram neatly sliced through his throat. The black cat lay still and unmoving when the warrior nudged it with the toe of her booted foot. She squinted down at the animal, much too small to have made the tracks she and Sali saw earlier.

She nudged the beast again. "You couldn't possibly--"

That's when she heard it. The yowl of a cat, farther down the trail, the way she'd just come…where she'd left Sali.

Xena took off running, dodging trees and jumping over logs, moving as fast as she could. The warrior cursed herself, realizing that there were two animals, and the larger of the two was now bearing down on Sali. The howl of the cat sounded angry and frustrated. All at once, the animal's roar turned into a scream of pain. The warrior flipped herself into the clearing just as Sali's arrow imbedded itself deep within the huge beast's chest. It slowed the animal momentarily and the warrior prepared herself for an off balance chakram throw.

She helplessly watched as the young Amazon disregarded the warrior's advice and calmly, without a trace of panic in her movements, notched a second arrow and let it fly. The cat stumbled and rolled as the second arrow hit its mark, but the creature rose and launched itself in the girl's direction. Xena was caught, unable to throw her weapon without taking the chance that it would ricochet into the girl in front of her.

In the half of a heartbeat that this took, Sali had a third arrow sailing toward the massive beast. At the same time, Xena lunged, putting her body into the air. The warrior landed on the big cat's back, Xena, and the animal landing in the dirt at the terrified girl's feet. The cat wasn't dead, but gasped as a thin line of blood trickled from its nose. The warrior quickly grabbed the animal's head and twisted hard, ending its misery.

"You okay?" Xena asked the girl.

Sali nodded, sliding her back down the tree until she was in a sitting position before the massive animal.

"Wow," was all the girl could say.

"Sorry I didn't get here sooner," Xena explained about the second cat, silently thanking Artemis for watching out for this young Amazon.

"You remind me of my wife," Xena said, retrieving the waterskin and kneeling down to give the young girl a drink.

What do you mean?" Sali looked perplexed.

"She never does what I tell her to either." Xena grinned.

"I know I was supposed to jump in the trees, but all of a sudden I thought that if he got this far, he must have hurt you. I just…I figured I didn't want him to get away with that."

"Yea, well, don't feel too bad about it," Xena replied. "I never jumped into the trees when my brother told me to either," Xena finished with a knowing smile.

The young Amazon moved to the large beast, running her fingers through the sleek coat, so black it shone blue in the waning light. Tears filled the girl's eyes as she examined the massive creature.

"What a waste. Such a beautiful creature…it's a shame he couldn't have lived a longer life."

Tears rolled down the girl's face and when she looked back up at Xena, she was smiling. "Do I really remind you of the Queen?" Sali obviously took the remark as a compliment.

The warrior gazed upon the young girl with the skill of a seasoned warrior, yet the compassion of a grown woman. Xena thought of her wife more than once today, but Sali's actions were exactly what Gabrielle would do.

"More than you know, my young friend…more than you know."

Sali smiled up at the warrior, honored at the comparison.

"Hey, we're losing the light. We'll never get this beast down to the camp with just the two of us. How about building a fire and we'll skin them here? This one should make a rice winter robe."

"I've never skinned anything this large before. I'm not sure how."

"Come on, I'll show you," Xena answered. "We'll do a quick cutting now and finish the job in camp tomorrow."

It took another three candlemarks before the two reached the base camp again. Eponin confided to Xena that if she hadn't been the one with Sali, the Amazon would have sent out a search party long ago. When the warrior rolled out the two skins, there were exclamations from around the camp, but when the Xena told them how Sali brought the largest cat down, they were astounded.

Suddenly all the girls wanted to know this quiet girl, whom they'd teased and made fun of. Talissa was relegated to a back seat position and the youngster didn't care for that. Xena listened to the girls' conversations as she sat farther away, sipping on a warm mug of tea.

"So, then what happened, Sali?" One of the girls asked.

"Well, Xena told me--"

It isn't respectful to call the Queen's consort, Xena," Talissa said with a superior smile.

"Oh, but she told me to," Sali said in earnest. The poor girl never seemed to realize that Talissa was baiting her. This time, however, right beat might.

"Xena said that friends don't have to use titles like that…she told me I should call her Xena."

"She really told you she was your friend?" another youngster asked.

"Sure," Sali replied, "and the Queen too. She said I should call her Gabrielle."

A collective sound of awe came from the group of girls and judging from the looks that Eponin and Xena exchanged, the warriors were having a difficult time keeping a straight face. Xena enjoyed the fact that she'd helped the young girl go from outcast to hero in a single day, but realized that it would have happened anyway. There were some people in the world that were destined to be thrust into the limelight, it just came a little slower for others.

The warrior grabbed a towel and some soap, prepared to head to the river and wash the dirt and blood from her body. She couldn't resist playing her part, however, in Sali's little scenario. She rose and walked into the circle of youngsters, knowing what kind of an impression that would make.

They were seated on logs around the fire and had to crane their necks high, in order to see the warrior's face. Their mouths tended to drop open a bit and Xena knew it was simply the armor and her physical stature that caused the young girls to view her in rather mythic proportions.

"Sali," Xena said and the young Amazon jumped up, to stand before the warrior. "Exceptional work today," Xena said and offered her arm to the youngster.

Sali grasped the warrior's forearm in the fashion she saw older Amazon's display their camaraderie. The young girl's mouth went dry and she mumbled, "thank you, Xena."

Xena chuckled, as the other girls were awed into silence, the warrior walking away and heading off to her bath.

**********

The next day, Eponin split all the students into three groups. One group went with her for some weapon practice and drills and one went with the hunters, after more game. The final group stayed with Xena in camp, the warrior instructing them on the intricacies of skinning and preparing furs, using the cats from the previous night as examples.

It was a dirty, messy job, but the girls enjoyed learning from the Warrior Princess, plus the warrior had a surprise for them at the end of the day. Xena found a small waterfall with only a ten or twelve foot drop. The pool the water cascaded into made for a wonderful swimming hole to clean the sight and smell of blood from them. The warrior demonstrated the fun they could have by quickly stripping off her armor and leathers and diving from the top of the falls. The group of youngsters quickly followed the dark-haired woman's example, and soon Xena lay in the warm sun, keeping a watchful eye on her charges, still cavorting in the water.

It was an exhausting day and Xena lay in her bedroll as the campfire slowly burned away to embers, aware of why she was unable to sleep. She'd hunted and taught, worked damn hard throughout the entire day, but when her mind stopped focusing on the tasks meant to keep her busy, and she lay down to sleep, thoughts of her wife kept her awake.

The warrior decided to quit fighting the elusive rest and left her blankets. Throwing another log on the fire and watching it finally spark to life, she gathered herself up and took a walk through the woods. She ended up at the top of a rise that looked down into the camp, only to find that someone beat her to the spot.

"Is this hill taken or can anyone join in?" Xena said dryly.

Sartori jumped a bit in surprise before recognizing the warrior's voice. "Xena…of course, please, sit."

"I thought I was the only one that couldn't sleep at night," Xena commented, dropping to the ground beside the Healer.

"I just don't sleep right when Adia's not beside me. I suppose you find that silly," Sartori said.

"Not at all," Xena answered, realizing she felt the same thing for her own wife. "It makes a lot of sense to me."

"I'm sure she's doing fine, Xena."

The warrior grinned. "So, now you're a mind reader, as well. Tell me…what am I thinking now?" Xena chuckled, placing her fingers on her temples.

Sartori smiled slightly at the warrior's antics, but kept her serious expression. "That you shouldn't have left her in the first place."

Xena suddenly lost her smile and she lowered her hands, folding them in her lap. "Well…you don't pull any punches when you read minds do you?"

"I'm sorry, Xena, but you know, it doesn't take a seer to see that you're suffering too."

"I don't think some people see that," Xena responded in a quiet voice.

"I think that's so for a number of reasons. We're used to seeing you hide everything behind that warrior's mask. We get quite used to you taking it on the chin and always bouncing back…always being the strong one. Then of course, it seems that all of us seem to have a soft spot for Gabrielle. She's only a few seasons younger than I am, but she has some quality about her…almost as if she could be anyone's daughter. Because of that, we become very protective of her. However, like any caring parents, we tend to want to guard her from everything and when she suffers, we feel her pain as our own. It's very human of us to want to blame someone for her pain…you often tend to bear the brunt of that particular accusation."

Sartori finished the explanation and Xena could only nod, unable to find the words to agree.

"I'm having dreams at night. I didn't want to tell Gabrielle, she had enough to deal with," Xena carefully explained. "They're dreams full of doubt…doubt of Gabrielle…of how I feel about her. Tori, to you honestly think Gabrielle could have done something, anything, to our baby?"

Xena had tears in her eyes when she looked at the Healer, seated beside her. Sartori only saw the warrior reduced to this condition in situations involving Gabrielle, a testament to the strength of their bond.

"No, Xena, I honestly don't believe it. Personally, I don't think Gabrielle could ever have done anything to your child, to harm it in any way. Professionally, I saw no evidence of anything out of the ordinary. It was simply unexplainable."

Xena rubbed her face, trying to hold on to a notion that hung just on the fringes of her conscious mind, but the harder she tried, the more it faded into the dark recesses.

"Xena, you need some sleep. You do no one any good in this shape, least of all yourself. Why don't you let me make you something that will help you sleep?"

"I'll be all right," the warrior replied with a sigh.

"I would hate to think what could have happened to you and Sali up there on the mountain if you were as tired as you are now. If your reflexes had been off the slightest bit…" Sartori trailed off.

It was enough to get at Xena. The warrior rarely did things for herself, but the Healer played the dark-haired woman correctly, prodding her at her weakest point…her need to care and protect others.

"Yea, okay," Xena complied, "but not something that will drug me into incoherency."

"I've been using something new that Adia brought back from the tribes up north. It's a plant named mazellia. As opposed to most of our sleeping mixtures, which affect your muscles and nerves to sedate you, mazellia acts directly on the brain. It won't cause you to sleep for any more hours than you usually do, but it will block out any thoughts from outside of your conscious mind. Simply meaning, you won't dream about things rolling around in your subconscious. I know Adia was going to start using it on Gabrielle in a day or two, if the Queen's dreams continued."

"That sounds great, Tori, thanks…for everything."

"No thanks necessary, Xena. You and Gabrielle are like family to us. Remember that you never have to go through pain alone. Come one," Sartori said, rising to her feet, "let's get that tea for you."

**********

By the time Xena sipped the hot tea, which tasted oddly of celery, she was already feeling its effects. The warrior fought it off for a while, enjoying the sudden clarity with which she was able to think of her wife. Gone were the doubts and the fears that plagued her mind for the past week. All she could think of was how nonsensical her petty thoughts were and how terrible she'd treated Gabrielle, running off as if she believed that Gabrielle was actually capable of hurting anyone.

Xena thought only of Gabrielle and how precious the Queen had become to Xena; how important the young woman came to be over the seasons, cradled protectively inside the warrior's heart.

"I do love you, Gabrielle…" Xena whispered, just as sleep claimed her.

Xena proved Sartori wrong. She did indeed dream, but the visions in her mind's eye, were ones that came from her own heart and not any outside source. A smile broke across the sleeping warrior's face, seeing Gabrielle in her dreams, that first night…

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"I was gonna follow you, until you were in some jam.  It's so cold out there, and I couldn't get a fire started, and the mosquitoes are as big as eagles."

"You know, I'm sending you home in the morning."

"I won't stay home.  I don't belong there, Xena.  I'm not the little girl that my parents wanted me to be. 

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"Gabrielle-- I want you to understand something.  We both have families we were born into, but sometimes families change, and we have to build our own.  For me, our friendship binds us closer than blood ever could."

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"I thought you had a pony when you were young."

"I did.  His name was Tympani."

"Did you leave Tympani with your sister?"

"No-- actually-- he got very sick one day, and-- I thought he would get better, but-- it's just what happens with things that you love.  Sometimes they just leave you."

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"Watch out for a man with a double-edged sword."

"What?"

"I had a dream-- and he came through the roof.  Just be careful."

"Always looking out for me, huh?"

"Always.  Xena?  About Chin…I hope you know I never meant to hurt you.  I only did what I thought was right."

"Gabrielle, that's all in the past. All I want is to be with you right now. You're my best friend…my family.  I love you, Gabrielle."

"I love you, Xena."

"Till the other side, then…we'll be together."

"Till then."

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"A long time ago, I accepted the consequences of our life together…that it might one day come to this.  It has.  I'm not afraid."

"You always said that I was the brave one.  Look at you now. If this is to be our destiny, let's see it out together.  Even in death, Gabrielle—I will never leave you."

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"No!  Hope!" Gabrielle screamed and Xena watched as the young woman flung herself at her daughter.

"Ahhhhhhh!  Gabrielle!"

"Xenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Gab--"

She could hear Callisto's cackling laughter. "I never thought I'd feel so good again!  Seeing poor, dear Gabrielle sacrifice herself makes it all worthwhile. It finally gives me a reason…for living, and I have you to thank for it, Xena!" 

"Ahhhhhhh!" Xena screamed, turning to plunge the Hind's dagger into her enemy. "No more living for you."

ĒĒĒĒĒ

"Gabrielle!" Xena cried out breathlessly.

The warrior grabbed her sword and leapt up from her blankets in one swift move.

The closest Amazons, including Eponin, were on their feet in an instant at the warrior's cry. Most of them realized that it was a dream that startled the warrior into the waking world, but Eponin and Sartori were there at her side to calm Xena within moments.

"Xena?" Eponin gave her a questioning look.

"Gabrielle…something's happening to Gabrielle," Xena rasped. The warrior began grabbing her belongings and stuffing them into her saddlebags. "I have to go back."

The Amazon took in the wild-eyed expression on her friend's face, but she also understood the bond that the two shared. "Okay, Xena, give me a minute, we'll all go back. If Gabrielle is in trouble, then we're all needed back at the village."

"There's not enough time…it will take too long. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"Xena, what can we do to help?" the Healer asked.

"Sartori, what you said to me last night about Gabrielle," Xena paused for a moment. " When you said what happened when she lost the baby was unexplainable…"

"I'm sorry that I didn't have time to talk to you about this before things started going a bit wild back in the village, Xena, but there wasn't anything to indicate why she lost that baby. If a woman is injured, or suffers a strain of some sort, there would be a tear, some type of explainable reason as to why she was bleeding. In Gabrielle's case, it appeared as if it was almost spontaneous. That girl bled, nearly to the point of death, yet I couldn't see any point of origin…there was simply no reason for it. It was almost as if…"

"Someone made it happen," Xena finished in a low, ominous tone.

"Yes…" Sartori whispered her answer. She was afraid to mention it before, fearing she could be wrong, but the longer she thought on it, over the last few days, the more convinced she was that she was right, that Godly intervention was the cause.

"Someone did and I think whoever it was has been planting these dreams that Gabrielle and I have been having. They've found a way to work around Morpheus, either that or he's switched sides. They've been planting ideas and thoughts in our head that we wouldn't normally accept. Like the notion that Gabrielle could have killed our baby," Xena finished.

"You actually believed that Gabrielle did that?" Eponin asked with a hard edge to her voice.

"My heart didn't, but my head did," Xena explained. "Last night, the tea you gave me," Xena motioned to Sartori. "You said it blocked thoughts from outside our body, well it works because for the first time in a week, I had true thoughts about Gabrielle…dreamed real dreams."

"So, what does all this mean, Xena?" Eponin voiced the question that she and Sartori both wanted an answer to. "One of the Gods killed your baby…why?"

"I don't know, but I'll tell you one thing, there won't be a safe enough place for the Olympians to hide once I find out who did it," Xena hissed.

By this time, Xena was saddling Argo as she spoke. "If they're still playing with our dreams, causing us to doubt our commitment to one another, then they aren't satisfied yet. I don't want to think about what Gabrielle might try to do if they keep at her this way. I just hope Adia used the same tea on her."

"I'll go with you," Eponin stated, tossing her own horse's saddle on the mare's back.

"I'll wake everyone else," Sartori looked about the camp as adults and children began to wake at the sounds the three were making. "We'll be on our way by first light and should reach the village by midday."

Xena merely nodded her head and quickly squeezed the hand that the Healer offered. The warrior grabbed Argo's reins and the horse sped off into the night, followed by Eponin's brown mare.

"Please get to her in time," Sartori whispered under her breath, praying that Xena arrived before Gabrielle had time to do anything the young Queen would regret.

**********

"Well, we've lost her." The Mystic said. "I told you not to let anyone get near her with a sleeping draught. We've lost our link now."

"Well, get it back!" Hera ordered. "Perhaps it will come as news to you, but I can't be everywhere at once!" she snapped.

"Do you know how many moons it takes to develop that kind of connection? It's impossible to duplicate."

Hera sat back in the large, throne-like chair. "There's nothing to be done about the warrior, then. No matter," she said suddenly, with a casual wave of her hand. "Our little runaway Queen has quite a lead on Xena. As long as that blonde slut continues to feel as though she is undeserving of life, she'll keep running."

Hera smiled an evil smile that turned her pale blue eyes a translucent, colorless hue.

"And as long as Gabrielle keeps running, my revenge against the Warrior Princess grows closer and closer to its completion." The Goddess' laughter echoed through the halls of her Olympian chamber.

Continued

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