The characters of Xena: Warrior Princess™©® and all others associated with the television series of the same name are owned by Renaissance Pictures and Studios USA. This is a work of fan fiction and no copyright infringement is intended.

Sexual Content: Oh yeah. It’s in there <G>. We’ve got graphic heterosexual as well as lesbian couplings. Okay, it’s probably okay to say ‘sex’ in the sexual disclaimer. We won’t be nearly so modest later. So cover up your eyes, kiddies and grannies. Actually, if you’re under 18, move on. But grannies are welcome to pull up a chair and enjoy. This story is intended for an adult audience only.

Violence: Yes, this is a Conqueror story so there is violence. Some of it is graphic. Callisto is also not very nice to a little boy in this story. She doesn’t hurt him physically, but she says some pretty mean things to him.

Videotape: We just slipped this one in to see if you were paying attention. But hey, don’t we wish<G>?

Language: Lots of foul language in this one folks. Be warned.

Drugs/Alcohol: And we’re not talking about all the beer TN and Advocate consumed while writing this tale. Heck, we’re not even talking about all the beer TN and Advocate drank while reading each other’s work on this story. To be clear, there is alcohol consumption in the story.

Acknowledgements: To Zoinks, who gave TN the original idea – a big thank you. To our beta readers, Barbara Davies and Chris – your assistance was invaluable! And, of course, we had a blast working together. But we won’t bore you with our mutual admiration.

Comments/Feedback to: TN and Advocate

By T.Novan & Advocate

With Zoinks

"WAKE UP, YOU UNGRATEFUL BITCH!" Ares’ voice exploded in Xena’s brain, propelling her out of a sound sleep and bringing her to her feet, the blankets flying from her body in a great cloud and landing in a tangled heap on the floor. Her sword found its way into her hand instantly.

"Bitch!" he seethed again. With a quick wave of his hand, the blade was torn from her grip and sent careening across the darkened room, impaling itself in the solid stone wall. With wild, dark eyes, he advanced on her, drawing back his hand and striking her in the face with brutal force.

Blood stung the back of her throat as she was sent sprawling to the floor, her knees landing painfully against the smooth stone as she scrambled to make sense of what was happening. Gagging on the acrid taste, she didn’t take the time to wipe her mouth before whirling around confusedly, trying to locate her assailant in the flickering shadows.

She didn’t have to wait long before a fuming, dark God stood before her, pulsing with rage. A stab of fear lanced through her at the look on his face, and yet she was comforted that it was he and not some other. Then her fear faded and she glared at the intruder.

Xena reached for her robe to cover her nakedness, noticing that Gabrielle still slumbered in their bed, seemingly unaware of what was happening. "What have you done to her?" the warrior demanded. She examined her lover closely, but the youthful face showed no real signs of distress. A tiny frown marred Gabrielle’s lips and her eyes moved back and forth rhythmically behind closed lids… their owner apparently held captive in the throes of an intense dream.

"Never mind about her! This is between us!"

Xena didn’t have time to put on the robe in her hands before it burst into flames, stinging her fingers and palms and singeing the fine hairs covering her arms. With a curse, she flung the burning cloth to the ground and it immediately vanished, leaving only the faint odor of burnt cloth behind.

"You don’t deserve clothing." Ares ground out impatiently. "You don’t deserve any of this!" He waved his hands wildly and the flames of the room’s candles flared to life, then lengthened… better illuminating the bedchamber and its occupants. "You betrayed me, Xena!"

"I’ve done no such thing!" she yelled back at him, her normal assuredness returning with a vengeance. "I’ve served you well." She wiped her bleeding mouth with the back of her hand, then licked the blood clean.

Ares’ eyes darkened further.

"I’ve claimed the world in your name, God of War. I’ve killed thousands for the glory of Greece. For your glory! I – Have – Never – Betrayed – You!" She took a step closer to him, whispering against his parted lips, "I’ve just never spread my legs for you." Xena paused, watching the God’s nostrils flare in a combination of fury and arousal, his eyelids fluttering shut. "And I never will."

Ares sneered and drew away, pointing at Gabrielle with an accusing finger. "That is betraying me!"

Xena immediately inserted herself between Gabrielle and Ares.

Unimpressed by the movement, Ares simply marched around the Conqueror. "You screwed me, Xena," he insisted, shaking his head. "You just didn’t bother to kiss me first!"

A weary look crossed her face. "Ares, what in Tartarus has she done to you that you hate her so much? This petty jealously is beneath you." Okay, it’s not, you bastard. Crossing to a table she poured some wine on a soft cloth napkin and held it to her throbbing lip, wincing as the alcohol stung the abused flesh. "Gods, I’ve bedded half the known world when it served our purposes. You’ve never cared before."

"Bedding and marrying are two different things," he claimed needlessly. "You married her, Xena! Committed yourself to being with her for the rest of your lives!"

"I love her," she said simply as if that explained everything. And to her it did.

Ares let out a disgusted breath and stroked his beard. His dark eyes rolled. "Love makes mortals weak."

"Not this mortal!" The Conqueror angrily tossed the napkin into the glowing orange embers of the fire. "If anything her love has made me stronger. It’s made me want to fight to keep what I have. For Gabrielle and Jarrod." And Gods willing, future members of my family.

Ares looked confused and Xena threw her hands in the air as she sought to explain. "I was ready to walk away, Ares! Ready to give up! I was bored and lonely and disgusted with this life." She arched an eyebrow. "And you. I needed more." There was still no glimmer of understanding in face, so she continued, her own expression softening unconsciously at the thought of her lover. "She gives me more." She is more.

"She makes you weak! My Chosen cannot be weak. I won’t allow it!"

"Great Zeus! Haven’t you been paying attention? She’s not trying to change me. She’s not trying to take me away from this. She is becoming a part of it."

Ares shot the Conqueror a skeptical look, but wasn’t quite able to disguise his interest. What manner of woman does it take to bewitch The Destroyer of Nations?

"Did you see the lashing she took?" Pride for Gabrielle’s strength and honor warred with Xena’s disgust at her own role in the punishment. "Look at her!" she demanded, pointing at the bandaged woman sleeping so soundly on her stomach. "Her back is striped with welts and cuts from the whip. She took five lashes by Callisto’s hand, and never made a Gods be damned sound."

Ares’ brow creased as he regarded the small woman who appeared to be barely more than a teenager. "Not even a little whimper?" he said mockingly. Even the most hardened warriors cried out when lashed. And he knew Callisto well enough to know the demented blonde wouldn’t go easy on Xena’s queen.

"Not a sound," the Conqueror replied flatly.

Ares looked deeply into her eyes and realized with a sickening clarity that Xena was telling the truth, and that he’d been played for a fool. Damn! "Callisto said…"

"Well, there’s your problem, you soulless bastard." She advanced on him. "Since when does the God of War rely on his current lay for important information?" She cannot be trusted, Ares. Don’t be a fool.

"Xena, I…"

"Get out, Ares." Her voice took on an edge of warning, her own anger starting to boil over. "Get out of here and leave me alone, or I swear by Zeus on Olympus I’ll take my family and I’ll walk away from this, leaving you to watch the mightiest empire on earth, built in your name, crumble to dust."

"You wouldn’t!"

"Try me." She ran her hands up his soft leather vest, digging her fingers into the raven-colored hide and making twin fists. "Stay well away from Gabrielle and Jarrod. My allegiance to you and this empire has already cost me a son. I won’t lose anyone else." Not and keep my sanity. "If one fair hair on their heads is disturbed… I’ll dedicate every single day until Hades takes me to searching for the hind’s blood so I can cut your worthless throat."

Her eyes glittered with barely suppressed rage and this close he could feel the pull between them as though her hands were everywhere, caressing his skin… drawing him into her. He knew she felt it too and groaned softly when she drew in a ragged breath. They were united by their very natures. Kindred in their sensual darkness and fury.

Ignoring the fire that had erupted in her belly at the God’s close proximity and the waves of anger radiating from both of them, she reminded, "Have you ever known me to fail when I set my mind to something?"

Ares didn’t answer; instead he pulled her into a rough kiss, devouring her mouth, tasting her blood, aching for her.

Xena’s body wanted to respond to the primal pull, but her heart quickly snuffed out the urge. She bit his lower lip hard, his blood mixing bitterly with hers as she pushed him away with a stiff arm.

Ares smirked and licked his stained lips… enjoying the mingling of her most basic essence with his. "No, my Chosen. You always keep your promises." Without another word, the God of War simply disappeared.

Xena dropped into a chair. "Hades," she hissed, wiping off her mouth disgustedly with a shaking hand. But her frown faded when she realized what she had been doing in this very chair not two marks ago, the scent of lovemaking still lingering lightly around her. No wonder Ares was so aroused. To his Godly senses, the heady aroma must have been overpowering.

The warrior stood, and retrieved the blankets from the floor. Crawling back into bed next to the warm body of her wife, she rearranged the coverings gently over Gabrielle’s back.

"Xena?" Sleeping eyes tried to focus. "Are you…?"

"Shh, love, go back to sleep."

"You’re okay?"

A nod.

"I had the strangest dreamed about you," Gabrielle mumbled, her eyes already closing as she slipped back into Morpheus’ arms.

Xena strolled across the courtyard with Melosa, Brutus, and the newly arrived satraps, Boadicea and Lao Ma. Cleopatra would no doubt arrive later in the day, but, for now, the Conqueror had her hands full with these four. They bickered like little children, and she was hard-pressed to even appear attentive during their minor squabbles.

From across the courtyard, the sound of actual children laughing and playing caught her ear. She stopped and turned towards the sound, knowing full well who would be standing right in the center of the group. Xena’s gaze landed on the figure and she smiled a smile that transformed her entire face with its warmth. Gabrielle…

The satraps actually stopped talking and stared, mystified, as The Destroyer of Nations was transformed into something as pedestrian as a woman in love. The smile on Xena’s face would not, could not be hidden. Her pride in her mate was just too powerful. It was the most human they’d ever seen her. And it was disconcerting. They exchanged sideways glances that were confused and wary.

Xena crossed her arms, just watching, not realizing that her forward motion had stopped along with the visiting dignitaries’ conversation. Gabrielle was laughing and playing some sort of game of tag with a dozen or so miniature people who scrambled wildly around her feet. Every so often, one would stop right in the middle of the game to give the Queen a hug or quick kiss on the cheek. Then they would scamper off again, crowing and laughing, once again caught up their game. They adore her. Just like I do.

Gabrielle’s thick hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, though a wisp of bangs fell across her forehead. She wore a loose-fitting white blouse under a muddy-brown vest that contrasted nicely with her pale hair. Tight, russet-brown pants hugged her hips and muscular legs and disappeared into knee-high, shiny dark boots. Securely tucked into the tops of the boots were two small, but razor-sharp daggers. What a woman!

Xena looked on as one of her camp cooks and several members of the kitchen staff set up tables and prepared what looked like it was going to be a small feast for the children. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she should eat something as well. She wanted to join her Queen and son, but was resigned to the fact that she would be trapped in meetings with her own ‘children’ for the better part of a day.

"You allow such things from your Queen and your son?" Lao Ma asked, stepping up next to Xena. Her question wasn’t condescending. The Asian woman was honestly curious about the strange ways of this foreign, and sometimes incomprehensible, court. Such frivolity was looked down upon in Chin and would never be permitted. The thought of that filled her with melancholy.

"And why shouldn’t I?" Xena turned soft eyes on Lao Ma, smiling wistfully. "Wasn’t it you that taught me not to try and rein in a free spirit? That if I did, I would only regret it and that it would die?"

The Empress nodded, remembering the many things she and the Conqueror had shared. She tried not to frown, knowing it was unbecoming and unwise to show emotion in the company of potential enemies. "I always wondered if you were really listening."

"I was listening, Lao Ma. I just needed to find a spirit with the power to soar with my own."

"And you have found it in this woman?" the older woman asked interestedly.

"I have." Xena looked back to Gabrielle. " Look at her, and tell me she is not the other half of my soul."

The Empress regarded the young woman who was rumored to be nothing more than a peasant but had somehow captured the Conqueror’s heart. "She is the light in the darkness." Lao Ma turned and looked directly into sky-blue eyes. "But sometimes… the light can be just as dangerous as the dark."

Xena nodded, lost in thought for a moment, before addressing the group. "Shall we go to the war room and begin our meetings? The Queen and I have court later today, and I would like to get a few items off our agenda first."

As they walked, the Conqueror took Lao Ma’s elbow and whispered, "You might consider letting Ming Tien come out and play with the other children. The boy broods too much."

The Empress nodded. She had never heard her son laugh as she had the children playing with the Queen. To do so would be very nice, she decided. "I will suggest it to him. But the Green Dragon make his own decisions in these matters."

"The boy broods too much," Xena muttered again. With a final glance back at Gabrielle and the children, the Conqueror resigned herself to her own fate and headed inside.

Gabrielle took her seat next to Xena in the courtyard. This was her first appearance at Xena’s side during a proceeding like this, and she was more than a little nervous. But her unease was somewhat mollified by the fact that she intended sitting quietly as her spouse passed judgement on the Realm’s prisoners.

The blonde had heard hushed rumors since she was a girl about Xena’s brand of justice. She was anxious to see how the Conqueror conducted the proceedings, and if she was as harsh and heartless as she’d heard people whisper.

She shifted in her seat, adjusting her back, which was sore and stiff after her day with the children. But the play had been well worth it. Jarrod had made a few new friends. And he already seemed excited about the prospect of playing with the boys and girls again.

Gabrielle had learned a lot about the different classes of people living behind the palace walls since her arrival at the Capitol. To her dismay, she had discovered that most of Xena’s advisors and even the high-ranking servants were snobs. It wasn’t their children that were playing with her and Jarrod in the courtyard. Their children would only be sent out to play with Jarrod when Xena was present. And their children could be used to gain the Conqueror’s favor. That she had allowed Xena’s affection for Jarrod to work to her own benefit early in their relationship, much in the same manipulative manner, sickened her. Though she freely admitted that in her heart, she wasn’t the least bit sorry. And that worried her, too.

But the merchants and lower servants were more than happy to see their children playing happily, regardless of whether Xena herself was present or whether they could gain favor by their actions. Hopefully, eventually, she would be able to convince more of the parents to allow their children to join them without it becoming a royal butt-kissing contest.

"How are you feeling?" Xena leaned over from her chair, taking Gabrielle’s hand and placing a tender kiss on the back of it.

"I’m fine, the stitches are itching and pulling a bit, but…" She gave Xena’s hand a squeeze. "I’m fine." Then she chuckled.

"What?"

"You’re so worried about a few cuts and bruises, I’d hate to see how you’d be if I could get pregnant."

Xena shook her head. "No you wouldn’t. You’d love to be spoiled like an old woman’s cat."

The Queen wanted to laugh but knew better, given what was about to take place.

"Lao Ma has given me some lotion for your back that should help the healing process."

"I look forward to getting a ‘complete’ rub down later, My Lord."

Xena lowered her voice, pressing her lips to Gabrielle’s ear. "I married a sex maniac." She pulled back and crooked an eyebrow, daring the shorter woman to deny it.

"You’re complaining?" Gabrielle questioned, her chin resting innocently on the back of her hand as she batted her long, fair lashes at the Conqueror.

Hades, no! "Maybe," Xena lied. She wanted to say more, but was stopped by her senior advisor calling court to order. She gave Gabrielle a look that said ‘later’ and shifted her chair a respectable distance from her partner’s.

After two marks of watching Xena conduct court, Gabrielle decided that, for the most part, Xena’s adjudication and sentencing of criminals was fair and the punishment seemed to fit the crime. Not all, but most of the lore that pervaded Greek culture about standing before the Conqueror appeared not to be true. Xena didn’t summarily execute the people brought before her. She listened not only to the accuser but allowed the accused to speak and plead their case.

On the other hand, some of the accused looked half-starved and as though the guards had beaten them. Gabrielle suspected poverty had driven many of these men and women to desperate actions. Murderers and rapists were executed as a matter of course. And although Xena was free to decree any punishment she saw fit, Gabrielle could tell by the look in her eyes that imprisonment or banishment had never been seriously been considered. And, if the Conqueror felt the accused was challenging her authority or posed a security risk to her Realm, she ordered death by crucifixion without a second thought. Her version of mercy was to order their legs broken first. One pathetic soul, who had been found guilty of counterfeiting the Realm’s coinage, wet himself upon learning of his gruesome fate.

But it was during the last case that Gabrielle’s interest was truly piqued. Three soldiers brought forth a man in chains and a dirty hood. They forced him to his knees and roughly tore the bag from his head, exposing a neatly trimmed head of dark hair. He looked up at Xena, brown eyes widening to almost a comical degree, before he swallowed hard and mumbled, "Oh, great. Juuuuuust great." He shook his head sadly, reaching up with a chained hand to stroke his perfect mustache. "Never trust a nobleman’s daughter."

Xena leaned forward in her chair, resting her chin on her fist. "Well, well, look who we have here." She stood, taking each step toward the prisoner so slowly that he had time to contemplate what was coming.

His face turned as white as a sheet.

"Did you really think you could elude me forever?"

She took a position behind him, grabbing his dark hair. Leaning over, she hissed in his ear, "Steal from me, King of Thieves, and lose your life." Xena held her hand out and a guard immediately placed the cold metal hilt of a long dagger in her palm.

"Wait," the prisoner squeaked. "Lord Conqueror, er… don’t I get a trial?"

"All right," Xena growled, loosening her grip on his hair ever so slightly. "Did you steal what you’re accused of stealing, Autolycus?"

"Of course not!" he said unconvincingly, mustering as much indignation as was possible considering he was the best known thief in Greece.

"Liar!" She yanked his head up, exposing his perspiring neck. "I find you guilty as charged."

"Big shock there."

The blade made its way to his throat. Xena gripped it tightly, and held her breath.

Autolycus squeezed his eyes shut, saying a quick prayer that was possibly the most sincere of his colorful life.

"My Lord?"

Blazing eyes looked up at the Queen, and Xena raised a questioning brow as she white-knuckled the dagger. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

Gabrielle rose from her chair and joined her spouse. The man looked at her with pleading eyes, sweat pouring from his forehead.

"My Lord, you know I would never question you. And your final decision on any matter is absolute, but might I offer a suggestion?"

"Of course." Xena pressed her knife more firmly against the man’s throat when he began to wiggle under her grasp.

"It would be a shame to kill him, My Lord."

Autolycus began nodding wildly. Well, as wildly as he could with a knife pressed to his jugular.

Gabrielle eyed Autolycus. "The King of Thieves is wrongly…" this last word emphasized with a glare at the condemned man, "thought of as a legend among the people. He has," she rolled her eyes, "once or twice been known to spread some of his ill-gotten gains among the poor. Kill him, and he simply becomes a martyr."

Xena thought about that for a moment. She really did want to cut the smug bastard’s throat, but was surprised to find she was also truly interested in what Gabrielle had to say. A quick sideways glance told her that everyone around her was waiting nervously to see what she would do, how she would handle this interruption. She had ordered an advisor’s tongue cut out several seasons ago when the hapless man publicly questioned her judgement in a burglary trial. But did the idiots think she would actually harm her wife? The one you ordered lashed only days ago, her mind guiltily supplied. "You have another suggestion, Your Majesty?"

Gabrielle let out a slow breath, glad beyond measure that she hadn’t overstepped her bounds. "Cut off his thumbs and sentence him to life imprisonment here in the palace. He won’t be able to steal, but he’ll still be able to work and serve you, My Lord."

Xena’s brow arched and she allowed a small smile to cross her lips. She pulled his head back again. "You hear that Autolycus? Your Queen just saved your worthless hide and has kept me from having to worry about getting bloodstains off my very nice boots. I think you should thank her." She shoved him forward, propelling him into the dirt at Gabrielle’s feet.

He slowly raised his head, bestowing his most rakish smile on the pretty young woman and hoping to get a peek up her dress. Now that he wasn’t going to die, he felt a lot more like his old self. He would miss his thumbs. But not as much as he would have missed his life. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Gabrielle knelt down and took his right hand in hers. "This time it’s your thumbs, Autolycus." She gave the body part in question a slight tug to let him know she was deadly serious. "If I hear of you stealing from Our Lord again, I’ll personally seek you out and cut off both your hands. Don’t make me sorry. But more importantly, don’t make the Lord Conqueror look foolish for sparing you. Do you understand me?"

Autolycus winked roguishly. "Yes, Your lovely… Uff!" He landed on his face when Xena kicked him squarely in his back.

Xena cocked her head to the side. "Perhaps General Callisto can help you with that eye tic you appear to have? Hmm? I hear she can do wonders with a red-hot poker."

Autolycus blanched and corrected himself immediately. "I mean, Your Majesty."

Gabrielle bit back a chuckle. She had, at last, met someone whose ego rivaled her lover’s. "I’m glad we’ve found a compromise." She stood, looking at Xena, who gave her a favorable nod and a smile laced with affection.

"My Queen," Xena kissed a bit of exposed neck, before taking her place at the table in their private dining room for the evening meal, "has a bit of a wicked streak."

"Really?" Gabrielle poured two mugs of tea without so much as raising a brow in Xena’s direction. "I hadn’t noticed." She smiled, passing one of the mugs.

"Umm-hmm. Ordering Autolycus’ thumbs cut off. That was a very interesting decision. I’m ashamed I didn’t think of it myself."

"Well, it just seemed to me that a live example was better than a dead martyr." She sipped her tea, giving her spouse a look over the rim.

"Also, not a bad game of good sovereign, bad sovereign. Saving his worthless life will make you more popular among the people. Very clever, my dear."

The door between their apartment and Jarrod’s room opened and the boy bounded in. He scrambled to the table, offering first a kiss to his Mama, then to his Mother. "I’m sorry I’m late."

"And why, Tiger, are you late?" Xena asked, suddenly irritable. She would not abide tardiness or excuses. And the boy had best accept that from the very start.

Gabrielle looked at Xena who had visibly stiffened.

"My pony threw a shoe, and Palaemon said it was very important to see that it was taken care of right away. I’m very sorry Mother. I’ll do better next time." The boy’s gaze dropped to his shoes. "I promise to do my best not to be late again."

Gabrielle remained silent. But it was hard, trusting your son’s fate to someone else’s hands. The blonde woman knew and accepted the risks of loving the Conqueror. But that didn’t stop her heart from starting to pound.

"Next time you’ll send word if you’re going to be late?"

The boy nodded frantically. Like Gabrielle, he read the anger behind cool blue eyes.

"Well then, I think we can let it go this time." She smiled a little, trying to ease her family’s minds. She felt a stab of guilt as they immediately relaxed. Damn, Xena. He’s a boy, not one of your soldiers. Control your temper. He apologized.

"Palaemon was right," the Conqueror continued, patting her lover’s knee reassuringly. Then she turned her head and bestowed her wife with a devastatingly sexy grin. "You have to take care of your mount."

Gabrielle choked on her tea, spraying the table.

"Mama, are you all right?"

She nodded, catching most of the cough in her napkin and offering Xena an evil smile. The Conqueror laughed and Jarrod took his seat next to her.

"So Jarrod," Gabrielle prepared a plate for the boy and placed it in front of him. "How were your lessons today?" It was his first day with someone other than Palaemon as his tutor.

The lad’s face turned crimson. "Umm..." He took a small piece of sweetbread and played with it before sputtering, "It... um... good... it was fine." Then he crammed the entire piece into his mouth, knowing his Mama didn’t approve of him talking with his mouth full.

Xena smirked at a confused looking Gabrielle and, as soon as she saw Jarrod swallow and reach for his water, she asked. "Tell us about your tutor? Do you like her?"

If Jarrod were capable of a real glare, Xena would have received the very first one. As it was, he only managed a supremely annoyed look. "Yes, Mother, very much. She’s umm… very nice."

"She teaches you important things, I take it?" Xena had to bite back the grin.

Gabrielle raised both eyebrows. She? Nobody mentioned that!

"Of course." He nodded, trying to decide what to eat next. "Today we studied..." His mind suddenly went blank under the scrutiny of Xena’s knowing eyes. "Errr... mathematics." I think.

The Conqueror nodded seriously. "I can see you’re paying attention to the important things. And can you tell me what color her eyes are?"

"Blue," the boy answered instantly, before realizing he’d been tricked. He groaned as his face flushed a brighter red and he hid his eyes behind his hands.

Gabrielle sat in stunned silence while Xena roared with laughter. She continued to laugh heartily until she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Moodily, Gabrielle refused to answer it, so Xena ambled over to the source of noise, now laughing at her shocked bride.

Malaius stood on the other side of the door, wringing his hands. "Forgive this interruption of your meal, My Lord, but we have a situation."

The Conqueror and the Queen both adjusted their cloaks as they made their way to the courtyard. A stiff breeze was blowing, stirring the torches used to light the courtyard, and the leaves around their feet, as they padded along.

"Get your hands off me, Greek Bitch!" The strong male voice, speaking Latin, rumbled on the evening air. "Where in the name of Pluto is Our Lord Conqueror?"

"Who is that?" Gabrielle tugged on Xena’s cloak as they approached, wincing as a string of expletives carried throughout the mostly quiet courtyard. She hadn’t heard that much cursing since she left the tavern.

"I’m betting good dinars: Mark Antony. He’s so arrogant, the prig refuses to speak Greek. Latin only. He’s the most arrogant, annoying, frustrating…"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. Not another one. "Sounds like he fits in just perfectly around here. You should order his transfer from Rome to serve at your side."

Dark brows drew together as Xena gave Gabrielle’s offhand remark a moment’s thought. "Interesting," she mumbled. "Antony!" Xena called, holding her hand high in the air. "I’m here! What has you so disturbed, that your filthy mouth has interrupted my evening meal with my Queen and my son?"

"This crazy bitch you allow to run loose!" An accusing hand flailed toward an uncharacteristically quiet General Callisto. "You should put her on a short chain."

"I’ve considered it." Xena gave Callisto a warning glare. "Especially lately, but with everything that is going on, my court is under a great deal of stress. What did my general do to offend you?"

Or is it just that she’s breathing – period? I personally find that terribly offensive, Gabrielle thought acidly.

The handsome Roman jerked a square chin towards a large, enclosed carriage drawn by six white horses. "Queen Cleopatra and her son are slumbering in the gharry. And this crazy bitch wants to search it as though Queen Cleopatra were some common traveler!"

Callisto stuck out an impudent tongue. Antony’s eyes flicked her way, but by the time they settled on the skinny, leather-clad general’s face, a sickeningly sweet smile was all they found.

Xena sighed. Maybe I should kill the bitch now and get it over with. Sure, it would look bad... having to murder my highest military commander. But they’d get over it!

Gabrielle stepped forward, laying a light hand on Xena’s arm and speaking in Latin. "My Lord, if it pleases you, feel free to speak with General Mark Antony. I’ll see to Queen Cleopatra and her son." Gabrielle offered the tall man a nod of greeting.

The Roman squared his shoulders, examining Gabrielle from head to toe with a critical eye. He bowed deeply, gently taking her hand in his and placing a light kiss on her knuckles. "Thank you..." his words trailed off meaningfully. Who was this woman who had been whispering so intimately with the Conqueror moments ago?

Gabrielle ignored his silent request for her title. "You are most welcome, General Antony. My Lord tells me you are a great asset to her empire. It would be my delight to assist you."

I said he was an ass not an asset, Gabrielle. Xena smirked, before turning on Callisto. She moved to the general and grabbed her roughly by the arm. "Are you trying to start a war?" she hissed quietly.

"Of course not, My Lord," Callisto defended in that sing-song voice that Xena had come to loathe. "I was merely doing my job."

"Since when does your job include rousting a royal guest in the court!"

Callisto pulled free, glaring at Xena. "My job involves your safety. And the arrival of your satraps…"

"I am so Gods be damned tired of your excuses." Xena was shaking with barely contained fury as images of a Callisto holding a bloody whip flashed through her mind. Her temper finally snapped. An angry hand flew out, backhanding Callisto in the nose. The loud popping of cartilage and bone, and the light spray of bright red blood, left no doubt that she had broken it.

"My Lord..." Antony began in surprise, preparing to interpose himself between Callisto and the Conqueror. He reached for his blade with one hand and grasped Xena’s shoulder with the other.

Xena eyes darted sideways at the Roman, and Callisto used the opportunity to spring forward, shrieking, her fist drawn back, her dark eyes insane with rage.

But Xena never felt the blow, seeing only a flash of Gabrielle’s cloak as the smaller woman propelled herself into the General, sending them both to the ground in a tangled heap of arms and legs. Callisto immediately rolled Gabrielle onto her back, causing the Queen to howl in pain as her stitches rubbed roughly against her cloak on the wet, leaf-strewn soil. But Gabrielle allowed Callisto’s momentum to carry them into another spin, this time landing with her on top. She swung wildly at the General’s shocked face, landing a vicious blow with her left hand. Her wedding band and the chain connecting her ring and bracelet cut across thin pale skin, leaving a bloody trail their wake.

Antony winced. "Now that’s going to scar."

Xena pulled her mate off Callisto before her General could grab one of the many weapons Xena knew she had hidden on her body.

"Never touch my family again!" Gabrielle spat, her entire body trembling.

Antony’s jaw sagged as he stared at Gabrielle.

Gabrielle fought against Xena’s grasp... only settling down when her mate whispered in her ear, "Easy, Mama Bear. Let the guards have her now. You’ve made your point."

Blood dripped from Callisto’s misshapen nose and the long gash that began just below one eye, ending at her snarling lips. Still on the ground, on her back, she reached for a knife in the waist of her tunic; pulling the knife and preparing to throw it, she screamed out in pain when Xena’s boot ground her fingers into her own blade.

The Conqueror’s hand fell to her sword. "Give me a reason to end this now." Her voice was deadly calm. "Please." She pressed her foot down harder, a crimson stain blossoming on the side of her boot.

Callisto’s lips twitched with the effort it took not to speak.

Xena smiled coldly. "You are relieved of duty. Permanently. Guards!" she bellowed needlessly. Two men carrying torches were already in a dead run towards them, having seen their Queen go down in the distance. "Take Callisto to the dungeon where she will await punishment."

"What?!" the General shrieked.

The guard looked from his former commander to Xena. "The dungeon... with the other prisoners of the Realm, My Lord?"

Xena thought for a moment. If she housed Callisto there, the General be dead before she could order her crucified. And that simply wouldn’t do. "No. Put her on house arrest in her apartment. I want three guards at her door. If she tries to leave her room for any reason..." Xena’s eyes pinned Callisto’s. "Kill her on the spot."

"How’s your back?" Xena asked, as the women excused themselves from Antony’s presence, having dispatched Malaius to make certain that Cleopatra got settled into her rooms.

"It’s been better," Gabrielle answered tightly. She twisted her shoulder, trying to ease some of the pain. "I’m sorry, Xena."

"For what?"

The younger woman smirked. "Well, not for knocking Callisto upside the head, that’s for sure." Gabrielle exhaled wearily. "I’m sorry that she’s acting this way because of me. I know she was being difficult with Antony out of spite. To make you look bad."

"Gabrielle." Xena pulled her partner to a stop and cupped her chin with a gentle hand. "Callisto was always a spiteful bitch. You’re not to blame for that. And she hates Romans. That’s why she was giving Antony a hard time."

Gabrielle nodded, accepting Xena’s explanation as they began walking again. "You were right. Antony is a pompous ass," Gabrielle agreed, once they had returned to their apartment.

"Told you." Xena turned her head from side to side, her neck giving a loud pop in each direction. Then she tossed down her cloak and offered her hand to Gabrielle. "Let’s check on Jarrod."

After making sure their son was tucked in and sound asleep they returned to their bedchamber. Xena fell back on the bed, arms spread wide, her feet on the floor. "I want to go fishing," she whined.

Gabrielle lay down next to her frustrated partner, comparing her bruised knuckles with Xena’s. "Then after all this is over, why don’t we go back to a certain apple orchard near a pond, and you can do that."

"What about our joining trip?"

"That could be our joining trip." The Queen grinned. "I can introduce you to your mother in law."

Xena threw her arm over her eyes. "I thought you were trying to relieve my stress."

"Oh, I know many, many ways to relieve your stress, My Lord."

"Don’t they ever stop?!" Ares yelled, closing the portal to the Conqueror’s bedroom with the furious motion of his hand. "They’re as bad as Dad," he mumbled, kicking a rug out of his way as he crossed Callisto’s quarters.

She lifted her head, sneering at the God. "She needs to die." Callisto wiped the remaining blood from her chin.

"Which one?"

"Like I care at this point."

"Okay," Ares put up his hands in a calming gesture. "I know you’re mad," you loony bitch. "But we can’t hurt either of them."

She came up from the table with a dagger in her hand. "Give me one good reason why!" Callisto demanded.

He sighed. Sometimes mortals were so tiring. He simply moved to the woman and laid his hands on her face, healing it of the cuts and bruises, but allowing the scar from Gabrielle’s blow to remain. Never hurts to have a little humility. Except for Xena and I of course.... "If I lose Xena, the answer is obvious. I lose everything. My followers. My power. And if Xena loses the annoying little blonde, she walks, and I lose everything again. So hands off!"

Callisto pushed her fingers between the opening of his black leather vest, letting her nails scratch through the coarse hair. "Ares, you could make me your chosen. I would let the world run red with blood... for you."

Ares gave Callisto a sarcastic look that screamed, ‘You wish!’ "Umm... Callie, darling, I agree that what you do is inspiring... in its own special ghoulish kind of way. But if you kill everyone, the point in ruling the world would be... what, exactly?" Besides, considering you were just bested by a short serving wench with a big attitude... Your stock just went way down.

He glanced at the General’s battered face. I might just see what Xena sees in her new bed warmer. I’ll bet she’s a hellcat between the sheets, too.

Unable to curb his curiosity and natural tendency towards voyeurism, Ares allowed the sounds of Xena and Gabrielle’s love-making to enter his head once again. He listened with growing arousal as his Chosen begged the blonde to touch her. To take her. "Oh yeah… Do it!" he groaned. What I wouldn’t give for a place in that bed.

Callisto was too wrapped up in her own anger and hatred to notice the odd but undeniably captivated look on Ares’ face.

"She embarrassed me, Ares! Xena challenged me in front of Roman slime."

With a snap of his fingers, the sounds disappeared. Later. And knowing them, I won’t have to wait long. "No," he corrected rudely, taking a seat on her foot of her bed, his skin tingling from his latest auditory experience. "She fired you in front of Roman slime. Had she challenged you, you’d be talking to my uncle not me." Ares crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, striking the pose of someone on their funeral pyre.

"You arrogant bastard!"

He laughed, resting his weight on his palms as he leaned back casually.

Callisto launched herself at the God, pushing him back on the bed and straddling his hips as quick hands reached for the belt of his pants. "She’s out of control, Ares. We need to stop her."

"And this is stopping her? Not that I mind," he added quickly, moaning as she practically tore his trousers from his body, lifting the leather over the hard bulge in his pants.

"No. But once I get done here, I intend to bring her down." She glanced up with hopeful eyes. Assuming I can get out of this room." She slowly lowered her body down his, bringing her head between his thighs.

"Done." After all, it was bad form not to reward someone as loyal as Callisto. He thrust his hips up to meet her mouth, his mind somewhere else.

Gabrielle entered the palace jail, gagging as the heavy doors clanked closed behind her. The lighting was poor, and she cast long shadows as she hurried through the corridor. The air was cold and heavy, smelling strongly of smoke, blood, and urine. Gods, Xena. She covered her mouth with her hand. She could only imagine what the dungeon must be like if the jail was in this sorry state.

Since court had been held the day before, the cells were empty... all except one. The enormous jailer, who looked as though he himself hadn’t seen the light of day in several seasons, walked with her but kept a respectful three paces behind her. The toothless man made her uneasy, and she was hard-pressed not to look over her shoulder every few paces. She was unaccustomed to having someone trailing behind her like a loyal but annoying hound. And she now understood why Xena never presented her back to her enemies.

Gabrielle shivered visibly and increased her pace. She had been warned, in a very quiet manner by Xena, that some of the servants, the ones who didn’t have direct contact with her in the palace, considered her to be a traitor of the common people. The news made her chest ache, and every shadow become sinister and foreboding.

She took a deep breath, ridding her mind of irrational fears... At least for the moment. Gabrielle had made her decision and found her heart and soul in the process. Nothing was more important than that... whatever the risk.

The Queen stopped outside his cell. She regarded him seriously, her eyes traveling to two bloodstained bandages. Gabrielle felt slightly queasy, knowing that he’d been maimed at her suggestion. But he’s still alive, she reminded herself.

He slowly looked up and lifted a wrapped hand. "Good morning, Your Majesty. Come to collect the evidence for a pair of earrings? Or maybe Our Lord wants an early morning snack."

Gabrielle didn’t take the bait. She motioned the guard to unlock the cell door, then gave a soft, but firm command. "Leave us."

"But, Your Majesty, if Our Lord…"

She turned on the burly guard. "Who would know Our Lord better, her wife or a palace prison guard?"

For a moment he remained nonplussed, but eventually, reluctantly, he bowed and opened the cell. "As you wish, Your Majesty. I’ll be in the outer chamber if you need me."

"Ah, don’t worry about her," the thief yelled. "She’s got a crush." Autolycus shrugged self-deprecatingly and tried to stroke his mustache dashingly, but the effect was mostly lost when he couldn’t separate his fingers in the bandages. "I don’t mind indulging the kid."

The jailer took a menacing step forward, but Gabrielle held up a hand. He spat on the ground at the thief’s feet. "I’ll see you later."

"Don’t bother. I can still smell you from way out there."

Gabrielle just shook her head. "You are amazing," she remarked, stepping into the cell and taking a seat alongside him.

"That’s what that nobleman’s daughter said." He still managed a smile.

"Before or after she turned you in?" the Queen asked, taking the small bag off her shoulder and placing it in her lap.

"Yeah, well," he tried to scratch his throat, cursing when he couldn’t do it. "I knew my luck was bound to run out sooner or later."

"Oh, I don’t know." She took his right hand in hers and began removing the hastily applied, filthy bandage. "Your head is still attached to the rest of your body. I’d say your luck is holding firm."

He watched as she unwrapped his hand, grimacing at the discolored stump covered with stitches where his thumb used to be. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I guess so."

She removed a jar and applied a salve to the wound, carefully inspecting it for infection. "Looks like they used a hot knife for this." The burnt flesh was dark and shriveled. "Did they?"

"Yes, actually they did."

"Small blessing."

"Very small," he snorted, sighing at the cool feeling of the salve.

"For a man who should be picking pockets in Tartarus at this very moment, you sure complain a lot. If you’re not happy with this arrangement, I sure I can convince My Lord to change it for you."

"No!" he corrected quickly. "But you’ve got to understand. I am a thief, after all. Cutting off my thumbs was almost like cutting off my…" They both looked at his crotch, then back at each other.

She bit her lower lip.

"Exactly."

Removing a clean roll of bandages from the bag, Gabrielle carefully rewrapped his hand. "Well, fortunately for you, I’m not done with you yet."

"Reeeeally?" He smirked smugly and cocked a brow, his mood brightening instantly. "You naughty girl! What did you have in mind, Your Majesty?"

Gabrielle gave the bandage a painful tug. "Keep that up, and Our Lord will remove your eyes and tongue next. And I won’t try to stop her."

"That would be bad."

"Yes, it would. Because I require the use of both of them."

"Now you’re talking Queenie…er…Your Majesty."

"You can’t do this!" Antony roared, rushing into the small private council room where Xena was having a meeting with her senior advisors. She was on her feet immediately, meeting the Roman before he was half way across the room.

"How dare you try to tell me what I can and cannot do." She drew her blade menacingly and marched across the room, the heels of her boots clicking on the hardwood floors.

He waved a piece of parchment in the air. Affixed to the bottom, and pressed into a heavy blob of purple wax, was the royal seal. "This! What is this?"

"Your transfer," Xena informed coolly, knowing she wasn’t really answering his question. What took you so long, Antony? I expected you several candlemarks ago.

"I cannot serve in Greece!"

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. "Of course you can. You will serve whereever I tell you to serve." She reached out, grabbing him and drawing him close to her. "I rule here, Antony! I am Your Lord Conqueror. You couldn’t defeat me in Rome and you can’t defeat me in Greece."

Xena pushed him away roughly, causing him to rock on his heels as he tried to regain his balance. "You will serve in Greece because I say you will serve in Greece. If you don’t like it, feel free to throw yourself on your sword." Xena waved a dismissive hand in the air. "But take yourself outside first, don’t ruin my rug."

"Cleopatra..."

"... is ultimately subject to my rule. She keeps her kingdom, as do the other satraps, because I cannot be everywhere at once. But don’t for a moment forget that it is a part of my Realm. The fact that you want to remain in the company of your lover is not a valid military reason to keep you in Egypt or Rome." And I need your abilities here, General.

The Roman’s square jaw worked silently; his face turned brick red as a vein in his forehead pulsed in time with his pounding heartbeat. His relationship with Queen Cleopatra was well known. But no one had ever been bold enough to speak of it so openly. He wanted to press his case. But one look into icy blue eyes told him it would cost him his life. The Conqueror’s patience appeared to be bottoming out and he’d seen men lose their lives for far less.

The Conqueror called two guards to her side with nothing more than a significant look. "Escort Mark Antony out of the room." Huh. He’s not nearly as upset as I thought he’d be.

"Yes, My Lord." The guard snapped off a salute before motioning to the door with his hand.

"And Antony," Xena continued, sheathing her sword and calling over her shoulder as she padded back to the map-covered table, "make an appointment next time."

Antony’s arrogant nature refused to allow him to remain silent. "This isn’t over, Lord Conqueror!" the Roman sneered, knowing full well that he was pushing his luck. He had personally seen men run through for less.

Xena unrolled a map of the Aegean Sea, never turning back to the man across the room. She shrugged as the door to the room clicked shut. "It never is."

The Conqueror stared at the scattered pieces of parchment, not really seeing them. She took a deep breath, one hand scratching the other as she considered the table and the men before her. "You know what?"

"My Lord?" Malaius questioned.

"I’ve had enough of this endless paperwork. I haven’t seen my wife and son since our morning meal." Gods help me, but I miss them and it’s making me even shorter tempered than normal. "I trust you can finish without me?"

"Of course, My Lord. The scrolls will be in your study for approval and signature by sundown."

"Good." She gave a small nod and trained her eyes on Malaius, offering an uncomfortable, "Thank you."

Xena held in her laughter as she escaped into the hall... sure she heard every jaw in the room drop as soon as her back was turned.

Jarrod sat on the top rail of the corral fence. Palaemon leaned against the outside of the rough wooden post. Smiles creased both their faces. The source of their amusement was their Queen and her ‘groomsman’, who was attempting to deal with the Queen’s new horse.

"Hopeless," Jarrod muttered quietly, shaking his head. "Mama has never in her life ridden a horse by herself. She hates them."

"I think Her Majesty will be just fine... given time." Palaemon dipped his head and brushed short bangs from his forehead. "Of course, things will move a lot faster once she actually gets on the horse."

Jarrod laughed, not hampered by his mother’s preference for walking.

Xena’s brows came together when she joined them at the fence. "How long have they been at it?"

Palaemon looked up into the mostly clear autumn sky. "I’d say a little over two marks, My Lord."

"And she hasn’t managed to actually get on the horse yet?"

Palaemon looked down at his boots before meeting Xena’s gaze, his expression sober. "No, My Lord. Every time she approaches it, she suddenly... um... well... she changes her mind and goes back to just walking around the ring with it."

"He means she chickens out," Jarrod supplied helpfully, rescuing Palaemon from having to spell it out.

Xena shook her head. Gods. "And the no good thief?"

Palaemon snorted, then regained his military bearing. But he couldn’t stop the small grin that had sprouted on his lips. "I think he hates horses more than Her Majesty. I’m certain he’s rethinking your offer of execution at this very moment."

"Hades in a hand basket," Xena groaned, climbing over the fence and striding across the corral, kicking aside mounds of wet leaves as she walked. She looked at Gabrielle and then the thief, who both suddenly wore sheepish, embarrassed expressions. "You," she pointed to Autolycus, "go sit with them." She jerked her thumb at her son and his mentor, wiggling it cruelly when she saw Autolycus staring at her opposable digit with narrowed eyes. Using powerful thighs, she vaulted into the saddle and offered a hand to her mate, settling the smaller woman into the saddle in front of her and straightening her cloak.

"This is nice." Gabrielle snuggled gently back into Xena’s warm embrace with a contented sigh. She knew Xena wouldn’t be pleased with her lack of progress. But it wasn’t like the time with her new horse had been wholly unproductive. She’d named the beast, after all! Of course, she’d had to change it when Autolycus informed her that Arabella was a bad name for a gelding. So now, they sat perched atop ‘Cinnamon’. Food associations were always pleasing to the young woman. Besides, he was brown and she wasn’t feeling terrible creative.

"Uh huh." The Conqueror grinned, pressing her lips into soft, fair hair. "Don’t get too comfortable, My Queen. You’re driving." She placed the reins in suddenly trembling hands and waited for the explosion.

"Xena, I can’t!" She fought the urge to drop the leather straps as the horse shook his head. He snorted irritably, sending puffs of smoke breath disappearing into the crisp air. "I don’t want a horse."

"That’s not important, Gabrielle. You need one."

"But I..."

"It wouldn’t look right for you to be walking along with the slaves when we travel. And I refuse to build you one of those giant sarcophagus-like things that Cleopatra travels in."

Both women shivered involuntarily at the distasteful thought of being enclosed in a solid box, without even a window.

"You can do this, Mama Bear," Xena promised in a low, reassuring voice. She leaned back a bit, giving Gabrielle plenty of room in the saddle. "Press your thighs into his sides. I know you know how to do that."

"Very funny," Gabrielle mumbled, but she did as her lover asked.

"Use the force of your legs and gentle tugs on the reins to tell him to go. That’s it... not quite so tentatively... Good."

Gabrielle nodded. She was concentrating far too hard to actually speak out loud. But after Cinnamon took a few experimental steps at his mistress’ command, she managed to find her voice. "Okay. I’m okay. I’m okay."

"Who are you trying to convince?"

"Quiet!" Gabrielle snapped, feeling the solidly constructed body behind begin to shake with silent laughter.

The horse made a sudden movement and Gabrielle gasped, fear rising in her belly. Xena laid warm hands over Gabrielle’s, and with a firm tug, brought the horse under complete control. "Xena, I’m okay as long as he only wants to walk." I think. "But what if he decided he wants to trot?" She gulped loudly. "Or run."

"Well, then, my love, one of two things will happen." A long pause.

Gabrielle finally broke under the strain waiting for Xena to finish. "What?!"

Xena chuckled again. "You’ll control him or fall off."

Gabrielle winced. Somehow she knew Xena was going to say that. "It’s not the falling I mind, My Lord. It’s the sudden stop."

"She’s out of her mind!" Brutus crumpled up the large sheet of parchment and threw it across the table. It skittered across the gleaming surface until it silently fell off the far end. He sat with the other satraps, who were all intently reading the Conqueror’s newest proclamation. "Rome will not abide by this!"

"I don’t understand this order at all." Lao Ma reread the last paragraph several times. "She has fine soldiers here in Greece. Why should she require more?"

Boadicea violently pushed her chair out from under her. Hefting it high above her head, she smashed it against the wall with a mighty roar as the other satraps looked on in disbelief, several of them drawing their weapons. With jerky, angry movements she tore a splintered leg from the chair and poked it into the red-hot coals that filled the conference room’s hearth. When her stick was blazing, she placed her copy of the parchment in the center of the massive wooden table, and crudely spat on it, cursing in a language that no one present had ever heard before.

When the tall redhead ran out of curse words, she set the parchment aflame, sneering as it burned. "I will not leave my twenty best guards here. And I certainly won’t send another two-hundred by the spring!" She spat again, causing Brutus and Lao Mao to exchange disgusted, pained looks. "I won’t allow conscription of Albion’s finest soldiers so that they may serve Greece alone. To die with Grecian dogs!"

Boadicea looked like she was gearing up to spit again, but Cleopatra interrupted. "She..." Cleopatra crossed her short, slender legs. Her finger softly traced the parchment lying in her lap. "... has already ordered Mark Antony transferred to Greece. She is quite serious about this."

"Then we have to stop her." Melosa knew the words were treasonous the moment they left her lips, but she wasn’t willing to send her best Amazon warriors to the capital either. The security of her tribe was at stake. Though she was glad that the Conqueror had only asked for thirty of her finest warriors in the spring – and not two hundred as she had with the other satraps.

"Then it would seem that we need to work together in this." Brutus paced, joining Melosa in her thinking. He longed to go back to Rome where women didn’t dominate politics. Even he was progressive enough to believe that they might occasionally earn their spot in the gladiator’s ring. But they should never rule! He cursed all Greek men and their apparent, inherent weakness. "Separately we are no match for The Conqueror."

"But together we could be." Boadicea crossed her arms, watching each face.

They all knew that what they were considering could cost them much more than their lives if they failed. But to succeed would free them from the Conqueror’s rule forever... leaving them to rule their domains as they saw fit.

The room was silent for a long moment. Lao Ma finally stood, taking her copy of the proclamation in her hand, she slowly tore it into two pieces. Forgive me, Xena. "Chin will join with any of you who wish to challenge The Conqueror in this matter."

Cleopatra tapped a long nail against the table. "Egypt will join an alliance as well. But Xena cannot be defeated through might alone. We all know this to be true." Several terse nods affirmed her words. To defeat the Conqueror, we’ll need to approach this in a far more..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Surreptitious manner."

Each head in turn nodded slowly in agreement. The alliance had been made.

Xena hissed sympathetically, watching Gabrielle limp into their bathing chamber. "It’ll get easier."

Gabrielle groaned in reply. "I feel like I was on that beast for days."

"Beast?" Xena snorted. "Gabrielle, that young gelding had to be one of the most mild-mannered horses I’ve ever seen. Gods, I thought he fell asleep there for a while!"

"Xena, I feel like I’ve been dragged behind the damn thing."

"Well, My Queen, I suggest that we have a hot bath drawn for you." She patted her spouse’s back lovingly. "After that I’ll give you a nice massage."

"Every spot on my body hurts," Gabrielle whimpered again, slowly peeling off her clothes. Gods, I smell like a horse. She found the mixture of sweat, leather, and horseflesh an oddly tantalizing odor on Xena. Gabrielle wrinkled her nose. She just stank.

"I’ll be happy to rub every spot on your lovely body, but first you need to soak in a very hot tub." Xena left the room to call for the servant to prepare the Queen’s bath. "It’ll relax your muscles." While Gabrielle was incredibly fit, Xena knew that riding made you sore in places... well, that normally didn’t get sore.

"Tell ‘em to keep it hot. I may sleep in it," Gabrielle called, peering down at her feet, and pondering exactly how she could get her boots off without having to move her legs.

Xena smiled fondly at her wife from the doorway. She slowly walked over to the pitiful young woman and knelt down. She had worked her for two more marks, but by the time they were through, Gabrielle could find her seat and trot the horse around the ring all on her own. She wasn’t exactly happy about it. But she could do it.

With nimble fingers, Xena began working the laces of Gabrielle’s boots. "Now you know how I feel at the end of a long day of training... And why I have bath attendants."

"And the reason that they’re breasts have to stand out to here..." Gabrielle cupped her hands out in front of her chest, indicating an enormous breast size, "is?"

To her dismay, the Conqueror found herself blushing. "As Conqueror, I reserve the right to remain silent."

"Uh huh. That’s what I thought." She stroked the dark hair in front of her, grateful for Xena’s exaggerated care. "Maybe there is something to the idea of having bath attendants after all."

"Sure, you say that now." Xena laughed, picking at knot in the laces. "Didn’t seem like it was such a good idea when I was sore and needed my boots taken off."

She gave Xena a playful shove with her foot. "Maybe I’ll hand pick a few attendants for the bath. I’ll get myself some nice young lady... or man," she added happily. "And I’ll find a very large, heavyset, toothless, bad-breathed, half-bald, old crone just for you."

Xena frowned at the thought of an attendant washing Gabrielle’s nude body. Her partner’s words had derailed her mind completely, causing her to miss the rest of the taunt. "You, My Queen, are only allowed male attendants that I personally will turn into eunuchs before they get close to you."

"Gods, Xena," she purred sexily. "How did you know I was into eunuchs?" The spark of jealously she saw in her partner’s eyes flattered Gabrielle. But it would be cruel, not to mention stupid, to take things any further.

The Conqueror fell back into the middle of the cool stone floor, laughing so hard that her sides began to ache. In fact, at that very moment, Xena realized that she had laughed more in the past few months with Gabrielle than she had in all the seasons since she was a child combined. She silently thanked the Fates that she had ridden toward Poteidaia in her quest to escape the confines of her loneliness and boredom. She shuddered, thinking of where she would be today had she headed her gelding in the opposite direction.

Gabrielle was puzzled by the sudden look of melancholy that stole over Xena’s face. Playing some more would help, she decided. "C’mon now! Get up." The command was given from the edge of the tub. "Snap, snap. Stop laying down on the job. I have another boot that needs to be removed. If you want to be my attendant and my body slave you’re going to have to do better than this," she teased, fully aware that her devotion to Xena was written all over her face.

Xena rose to her knees and bowed her head deeply, pressing the crown of her head into Gabrielle’s chest and feeling strong arms wrap around her. "Forgive me, Your Majesty."

It was then that the attendants entered the room to prepare the bath. They stood in shocked silence in the doorway, amazed to see their Lord Conqueror on her knees with her head bowed before the small blonde.

Gabrielle noticed them first. "You should see what I can make her do when I’m totally naked."

Jarrod stood gaping at the group of children he’d been playing with. "It’s not true! Take it back!"

"It is true," a chubby, red-haired boy who was slightly older than Jarrod defended. "My brother is the healer who put the stitches in her back. He told me himself!"

Jarrod advanced, wanting to strike out, his mounting anger and frustration warring with his upbringing. He balled both hands into fists. "You lie! Our Lord Conqueror wouldn’t hurt Mama! They love each other."

The other children laughed at him, and he became more confused. "What?! They got married. My Mama is your Queen now!" he shouted, backing up a pace.

A tall, twelve-winters-old boy with deep set, hazel eyes spoke up cruelly. "My mother says that your Mama is a peasant whore that the Conqueror keeps merely as a body slave."

"Your mother knows nothing!" Jarrod gestured wildly, looking around for someone who would back him up. Several boys and one girl, who had managed to convince them to allow her to tag along in her play, studied their shoes, wanting to side with Jarrod but not wanting to anger the largest, oldest boy, who seldom would play with the younger kids. "You’re all very wrong! Our Lord Conqueror loves my mother. You don’t know what you’re talking about."

Hazel eyes flashed in challenge. "Yeah... that’s why the Lord Conqueror beat your mother in the courtyard like a common prisoner. I heard she gave her ten lashes…"

"Not true!" Tears stung Jarrod’s eyes and he brushed them away with a balled up fist, running at full speed toward the royal apartments. He would tell Xena and she would set this lie straight!

"Take your robe off and sit up, Gabrielle." Xena warmed the oil in her hands. "Lao Ma assures me this will help your back heal properly."

The Queen removed her robe and sat up in the bed offering her back to Xena’s strong warm hands. Gods, it’s amazing how gentle they can be when she wants them to. "Oh, that’s nice." She purred, letting her head drop.

"Well, I’m glad you’re pleased, Your Majesty. Though you really should be punished after what you said to those servants."

The door to their bedchamber burst open, and Jarrod flew into the bedchamber just in time to hear Xena’s last words. He stopped a few feet from his mother, looking at her striped back with wide, terrified eyes and breathing hard. "Don’t you touch her! Don’t hurt her ever again!"

Both women turned. Gabrielle quickly reached for a sheet to cover her naked body.

"It’s true!" he sobbed, as the pain of what had happened hit home. Tears blurred his vision. "You…you beat her? How could you? You said you loved her!" He was shaking and slowly backing out of the room. "You said you loved me! You lied! You lied! I hate you, Xena!"

Before either woman could offer a response, he bolted.

"Oh, Zeus!" Xena was on her feet hastily, though the pain in chest nearly convinced her that her heart had stopped beating all together. We need to bolt that Gods be damned door! Frantically gathering her clothes, she pulled them on, noting out of the corner of her eye that Gabrielle was doing the same thing.

"Tell Palaemon what happened," Xena ordered curtly.

Gabrielle closed her eyes at the stark look of pain that cut across Xena’s face. Gods, Xena. Her chest tightened painfully. "It won’t be easy but I’ll..."

"What, Gabrielle?" She angrily tugged on her second boot. "What can you say to him? He was absolutely right!"

"We’ve been down this road before!" Gods, if I’d have understood how this would hurt her... and now him, I would have just let her pardon me. Now is not the time to argue this, Xena. But you’ll both get past this. And eventually you’ll forgive yourself.

"There are lots of places for the boy to hide in the palace, but hopefully he’ll go to someone he trusts. I’m going to look for him and see if I can catch him before he gets away from us."

Gabrielle nodded, and the women headed down the hall... in opposite directions.

Xena heard the palace come to life as more and more people were enlisted to search for Jarrod. It had been nearly two marks and there was no sign of the boy. The courtyard, usually cloaked in darkness by this hour, was alight with dozens of soldiers’ torches as they hunted for the prince. Voices of all type and station called her son’s name, and for a moment, a terrified mother was grateful that no matter how much people may detest her, they didn’t want any harm to come to her child. But the person who does your children the most harm is you, Xena.

Tear welled in her eyes, but she pushed them aside quickly along with thoughts of Solon and her maternal failures. Her gaze moved upward as she scanned the tall building. Would you go up into the old watchtower, lad? It’s so dark and gloomy. Is that how you feel right now? Or are you still filled with fire and fury?

The watchtower had been deserted for many, many winters. It was never used during the Conqueror’s reign, having been a creation of the Stronghold’s former occupants. It was too big to bother destroying, so the palace simply grew around it. It was dark and deserted. The perfect place for a boy to hide. Her torch flickered in the heavy draught, and she spared a quick thought toward the cloak that she’d left behind in her haste. The door should have been locked, but when she reached out and turned the old wooden handle – it opened.

The smells of wet, musty rock and rotting wood assaulted her; the sound of trickling water echoed in the distance. With slow steps, her eyes scanning every corner, peering deeply into every shadow, she climbed the winding, circular staircase that disappeared into inky darkness. There was no railing and the stone steps were extremely steep and uneven, their centers sloping and cracked after many years of use and many more years of neglect. Even Xena’s well-muscled thighs felt the strain as she continued to ascend. God’s this is more like climbing a twisting ladder than stairs.

"Jarrod! C’mon son! Come home. I’m worried. Your Mama is half out of her mind." She was tempted to say that they would explain everything. To say that things would be all right. But that was a lie and she knew it. And although she was certain that, when it was her time and Celesta came for her, she would burn in the pits of Tartarus, something inside her wouldn’t allow her to compound her sins by lying to Jarrod. She continued to call out to the boy, moving higher and higher, dread flooding her senses.

At the top of the tower Xena searched every room very carefully, trying to recall if there were any hidden passages. She spent a few moments running her fingers over the damp stone walls, just in case there was something she had forgotten about. Though unlikely, it was possible. She was merely mortal, after all. "Come on, son." Her words echoed eerily in the silence. "Talk to me!"

Her torch began smoking heavily and she knew that she only had a few moments before it would burn out completely and she’d be plunged into total blackness. Xena stood at the top of the staircase, glancing through the night one more time. She finally decided to go back down and start anew. In the distance, she could hear thunder. It was unusual this time of year, but not unheard of. A flash of brilliant white poured through the slender archers’ windows at the top of the tower, streaking the walls and illuminating years of cobwebs.

"Of all the nights for Zeus to have a tantrum…" she muttered as she started down the stairs, almost stopping when a strange sensation chased up and down her spine.

Xena’s foot had just touched down on the third step when she felt a firm pressure in the small of her back, unexpectedly propelling her forward. Her grip on the torch loosened and it flew out of her hand, tumbling ahead of her as she dropped like a stone, not touching the steps for several long seconds as she hurled face-first just above them. Then the stairs turned and she crashed into the wall, her shoulder smashing against the cool, slick stones with an agonizing crunch. But the momentum kept her from stopping.

The stairs twisted again and the side of her head slammed into a step or the wall – she couldn’t be sure which because it was all happening in complete darkness, having passed her dropped torch a few seconds ago as she fell. She was dizzy and disoriented, trying desperately to slow her descent with scraping fingers and hands, but the walls were slippery from leaking water and the thin layer of moss that covered them in patches.

Xena’s fingers broke with a series of sickening snaps as she reached out blindly, trying to brace herself. Her head made contact with the wall again. A bright light invaded her vision, and a bolt of pain exploded through her skull, throwing her into an oppressive fog. Head over heels she tumbled, blood filling her mouth, its metallic smell reaching her nose. The air was forced from her lungs by a violent blow against her back.

More cracking sounds. She wasn’t sure if it was her bones or the corners of the steps that seemed to crumble under the weight and impact of her falling body. These sounds quickly gave way to a loud and simple ringing in her ears, but the feeling of her shoulder dislocating and her knee slamming into a step temporarily pulled her from her daze, the intense pain causing her to cry out as her battered and broken body plunged farther on.

When she finally stopped, she had only a brief moment before the darkness claimed her, and her last thought was that she hadn’t found the boy and how could she explain that to Gabrielle.

Several marks had passed and Gabrielle had not only lost track of Jarrod but of Xena as well. A double panic washed over her, increasing her breathing and pulse. She moved quickly across the courtyard, pulling her cloak tighter around her neck. The wind had picked up and howled plaintively. A cold, misty rain that slicked the already damp ground joined it. Streaks of lightning flared across the night’s sky, and a truly eerie feeling settled over the Stronghold.

"I found him!"

Gabrielle whirled around at the sound of Palaemon’s voice and launched herself into a full run toward the stables.

She skidded inside the stable door just as Palaemon was lifting the boy out of a storage box. Gabrielle rushed to her son, who was shaking and weeping, and pulled him into her arms, collapsing onto a pile of sweet, fresh smelling hay at her feet. Her tears mixed with his as she rocked him gently.

Palaemon lingered at the doorway for a moment then ducked outside to allow mother and son the privacy they deserved.

She stroked his hair and then, like the breaking of a dam, the words suddenly poured from him. "I’m sorry I left her there with... y... you. I should have protected you," he wept guiltily. "I... I... I’m sorry she hurt you! We should... shouldn’t have come here."

"Jarrod," she tried to soothe. "Xena didn’t hurt me, sweetheart. At least not the way you think she did. It was Callisto who gave me the lashes." She didn’t feel the need to lay the responsibility on anyone but the skinny, blonde bitch. Xena had only done what she had to do. As Gabrielle held the trembling boy in her arms, she wondered if she might find the strength and courage to drive the spikes into Callisto herself once Xena passed judgment. "Shh… just relax."

Jarrod tightened his grip on his mother, who refused to flinch or make a sound when small hands grazed her tender stitches. Her muscles protested at her current position. But she didn’t move.

After a moment, his ragged sobs began to taper off, shifting into mewing, broken whimpers.

"Xena loves us, Jarrod," she finally began again, her voice soft and steady. "She would never knowingly hurt either of us. Not unless there was no other choice."

"But… but…" he hiccuped and cried at the same time.

Gentle fingertips brushed his tear-stained cheeks. "I know it looks bad, honey. I know what you saw scared you. But I’m really okay. Xena would have spared me the lashing. But I insisted that I should get it."

Jarrod stiffened and prepared to express his doubts when Gabrielle shushed him, having felt his sharp intake of breath.

"Xena has taken very good care of me, son. I know you don’t understand why she had to allow me to be whipped. But you need to know that it was my choice to accept the punishment, even when I knew that’s not what Xena wanted. I’ve always taught you to accept responsibility for your actions, haven’t I?"

He nodded weakly against her chest.

"Well, this time I got to put my dinars where my mouth is. This was one of those complicated, grownup kind of situations where there were no good answers, so we just had to pick from the best of the worst." She looked down at his face, wishing Palaemon had left a torch inside the stables. "Do you understand?"

"I... I think so."

"I’m going to be fine. No one will ever hurt me again."

She held her son for a long time, rocking and soothing him as Palaemon stood guard just outside the door.

Autolycus wondered if his hands would always ache in the cold from now on. They got you good, King of Thieves, but if this is how your career had to end... I guess there are worse places to end up than in the service of the Queen of the Realm. She did suggest that Xena have my thumbs cut off... but other than that she’s been a real sweety. And what a great ass! his libido chimed in appreciatively. While he was only ever a part-time thief, he was, admittedly, a full-time lover of women.

Now he just hoped he could find the missing boy. He hadn’t known her long, but even after the short time he had spent with the Queen in his jail cell and with that blasted horse, he could tell the loss of her son would be devastating. He himself was an orphan; having been raised by the Sisters of Hestia in Athens... something he would never admit to another living soul.

It was excruciatingly painful, but he managed to grasp the torch in both his hands as he continued searching. He approached the door of the old watchtower, deciding that it was going to be better to be inside very shortly. A fine mist had already coated his cloak, but a full-blown storm was threatening. He pushed the door but found it blocked. Ah, did you crawl in there and go to sleep, little man? Throwing his shoulder into it, he leaned forward and was able to shove the door open enough to slip inside.

"Zeus’ bolts!" he yelled when he saw the crumpled, bloody, still body on the floor. He knelt, lowering the torch, casting its golden glow over the body. "Xena…"

He turned to leave, and then he turned back. Then he turned to leave again, and then he turned back again, mumbling to himself, "This looks bad, Autolycus." He winced and shook his head. "Oh, soooooo bad. Wait... I know! I could..." He tried to snap his fingers to emphasize his great idea, but couldn’t. "Hera’s girdle!" I should try and escape. The Stronghold is in chaos looking for the boy. When news of this gets out, things will only get worse. It’d be the perfect time to sneak out. His eyes traveled to the helpless woman at his feet. "Oh Hades! Why couldn’t she have been an ugly, smelly man?" he whined loudly.

Laying the torch aside, he managed to lift the broken woman in his arms, cradling her. "You’re a big girl, aren’t you?" he choked out, his face reddening under the strain. Using the toe of his boot, he swung the creaking door open with his foot. "Now don’t you be dead... or dying on me, My Lordship. Or that little Queen of yours might decide to kill the messenger. And I’ve already had enough things cut off my body, thank you very much."

Gabrielle sat on the edge of Jarrod’s bed, watching her son sleep. She had gotten him home and calmed down and he was tucked safely under a warm quilt. She had dispatched Palaemon to find Xena and call off the search.

When the door opened, she expected to look up and find the Conqueror. She didn’t expect to see Palaemon standing there with tears glistening in his eyes. "Your Majesty, there’s been an accident…" he said softly.

Gabrielle’s chest seized sharply and her mouth went dry. "What?" She slowly got to her feet; feeling weak and dizzy, she took a deep breath.

"Our Lord…"

Her stomach dropped and she unconsciously raised her hand to it. "Is she dead?"

"No!" Palaemon shook his head wildly, looking younger than she remembered. "But you need to come right now." He opened the door, ushering in the servant he had brought to watch over Jarrod.

"We can take Jarrod..."

The beefy young man took her by the shoulders. "Your Majesty," he swallowed hard, wanting to make her understand how important speed was, but wanting to do it without scaring the life out of her. "Gabrielle..." Her name sounded funny rolling off his lips for the first time, but he pressed on quickly. "Jarrod is sleeping and he shouldn’t see Our Lord... well, like this. Please let’s hurry. I... We might not have much time."

With those words, Gabrielle closed her eyes briefly, her face turning ashen. When she reopened them, she grabbed Palaemon by the sleeve and began tugging him to the door. "Where is she?"

"In the healer’s room."

Without waiting, Gabrielle turned on her heels, running through the palace in her stocking feet.

Palaemon grabbed her boots, which sat near the doorway, and looked back at the servant who had taken a seat next to Jarrod’s bed. "Make sure no harm comes to him or I’ll make you regret the day you were born."

"Yes, Captain Palaemon. His Highness will be fine."

Next it was the sound of his pounding footsteps that faded into the night.

When they led her to the healers quarter’s, Gabrielle was horrified to find Autolycus sitting on the floor in the outside chamber, leaning against the wall, head in his hands, his clothing covered in blood.

"Good Gods, Autolycus, are you…?"

He stood, giving her a solemn stare. "It’s not mine, Your Majesty."

Oh Xena. She brushed past the thief, moving towards the sound of muffled voices.

"Then cut it off her!" the healer ordered. "Just get her out of it. Gods, I’ve never seen her this bad before."

"Xena?" Gabrielle’s questioning cry carried well into the room and the voices went respectfully silent, though the healer and his assistants continued working as quickly as they could.

The crowd around the bed parted slowly, allowing the Queen to approach the Conqueror. Gabrielle took a step forward; her eyes landing on her mate. She gasped, and the blood drained from her face. Before she could even try to stop herself, she was dropping to her knees. A basin was thrust into her shaking hands and she promptly threw up, continuing to heave until her stomach was empty and her cheeks were streaked with hot tears.

The healers had already gone back to work on Xena, trying to stop the blood, which seemed to be coming from several places. They continued to assess the massive damage in hushed voices.

A warm hand gripped her shoulder. "Your Majesty?" Gabrielle turned to find a young woman with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. "Your Majesty, please drink this. It will calm your nerves. Our Lord needs you to be strong."

"She..." Gabrielle swallowed, gagging on the sharp, acid flavor of bile. "She’s alive, looking like that?" she said to herself, shaking her head in disbelief. Xena looked as though a chariot had hit her. And then backed up and hit her again. Several more times.

The healer’s assistant stated the obvious. "Yes, Your Majesty. Though by what miracle, we’re not sure."

Gabrielle gripped the mug carefully, drinking down the hot liquid in one long swallow, and washing the foul taste from her mouth. "Thank you."

Long, slender strings of catgut were carefully held closer to the many candles and threaded through sharp bone needles. Two men began stitching shut the Conqueror’s wounds. One healer concentrated on her head, while the other worked on the twisted fingers and wrist of her right hand. Several bones protruded through her skin, and Gabrielle had to sit down at the sound of the pained moans her unconscious wife made as they sewed her flesh and began setting her bones. Gods, even if she survives - which she has to - she’ll never be able to hold her sword again.

Xena’s personal healer washed his hands several times during the course of treating her, the blood on his hands causing the needle to slip between even his practiced fingers.

The Queen gripped the arms of her chair tightly, wanting to rush over herself and treat Xena. But Xena was in the best care possible. Her shoulder and knee were popped into place, her shoulder requiring two healers to do the job properly.

Gabrielle schooled herself in patience, cursing occasionally, and squeezing her eyelids tightly shut to keep more tears from spilling over. Don’t you even think about dying, Xena! But one look at her lover’s ravaged body filled her with an icy doubt that anyone, even someone as strong willed as Xena, could survive injuries like this. She was terrified she was about to see her die right before her eyes, and she fought hard to quell her rising panic and nausea. Stay with me. I need you. We both need you.

Clean sheets were placed on her bed and great care was taken to not overly jostle the patient, but everyone in the room jumped when Xena let out an unexpected, loud groan. The healer washed his stained hands one last time and gave the Queen his most hopeful smile. Which still wasn’t very hopeful. "I’ve done all that I can." He took a deep breath, smiling weakly when Gabrielle sprang from her chair and perched next to Xena on the bed... now that his work was through. "The rest is up to Our Lord and the Gods. Let’s hope they are on very good terms."

"What...?" Gabrielle looked at Xena helplessly. An idea sparked her head as she considered his words. Ares could heal his Chosen if he wanted to! She eyed Xena thoughtfully knowing that that was the absolute last thing Xena would want. Favors from the gods always carried a price. Everyone knew that. I won’t go to him now, Xena. Not while there’s a chance you’ll recover on your own. Please don’t make me have to change my mind.

"She’s badly broken, My Queen. Our Lord Conqueror has multiple broken bones and fractures, including her skull. Her right hand..." He shook his head deciding what not to say, what they both already knew. Even if it healed well, it would never be serviceable again. "Several ribs are crushed, and possibly several vertebrae. It’s also likely she’s bleeding somewhere inside her abdomen."

"Is that all?!" Gabrielle ground out between clenched teeth.

The healer’s eyes went round and he moved discreetly toward the door... "I’m sorry, My..."

Gabrielle covered her eyes with trembling hands. "No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re doing your best. I know that. But are you sure you can’t...?" She looked up at him.

"I’ve done all I can," he repeated patiently.

Gabrielle quietly thanked him, waiting until her left her alone with Xena before giving her wife a thorough examination of her own. She pulled three candles onto the nightstand next to Xena’s bed. Even in their soft, muted glow, Gabrielle could tell Xena’s face was pale and drawn. She moaned in pain, murmuring softly, her eyes working furiously behind closed lids. Gabrielle leaned in close, nearly pressing her ear to bruised lips, but could only manage to make out the words ‘sorry’ and ‘Jarrod’.

She gently tugged down the soft blanket covering her naked lover, sickened at the sight. "By the Gods." She clamped her hand over her mouth and reached for a basin at the foot. They must have left that for me, she thought humorlessly, managing not to be sick again.

The entire left side of Xena’s head and face was bandaged, but an angry purple bruise peeked out from beneath the bandage, extending from her cheek to her collarbone. Her right arm was splinted from just above her elbow down to her fingertips and rested in a linen sling that was wrapped snuggly against her ribs, which were also wrapped. Both legs were splinted, one from thigh to foot, the other from knee to foot. Gabrielle counted at least a dozen stitched wounds that she could see, not sure how many were hiding beneath Xena’s many bandages.

The blonde leaned over and placed a very, very gentle kiss on bruised lips. "I love you." Several tears splashed on Xena’s cheeks and Gabrielle wiped them away in much the same manner she’d done with Jarrod earlier that evening. She wanted to touch her, but was terrified to do so for fear of harming her further. She stared down her, praying that Xena would wake up so she could look into those beautiful blue eyes. The last time she’d seen them, they were filled with unshed tears.

The healer’s assistant, who brought her the tea, explained to Gabrielle what little she knew about what had happened to the Conqueror. This was the worst of all possible times for Xena to be injured. Her mind refused to except any other possibility than that Xena was temporarily out of commission. The satraps might use this as an opportune moment to usurp power. Not to mention what things Callisto might try to get away with.

Gabrielle leaned over again, her breath brushing Xena’s cheek. "I’m going to do my best here, but I don’t want this job on a permanent basis. You need to get your butt back here." She placed another, tender, lingering kiss on Xena’s mouth, her heart breaking at her partner’s lack of response. "I mean it, Xena. Don’t make me come get you. I won’t be happy. And you know how I hold a grudge."

She gave Xena’s cheek a final soft kiss and tucked the blanket snugly around her before leaving the room.

Palaemon turned, surprised to see the woman emerging so quickly.

"Palaemon, seal the gates. No one leaves the palace grounds. Double the guards. Find Malaius for me and prepare for a very difficult next few days."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed, feeling better than he had since this entire mess started.

"Palaemon." She grasped his arm gently, smoothing the sleeve she’d been so rough with earlier. She lowered her voice so that her words would be for his ears alone. "Post two guards at the Conqueror’s door, on the inside of the chamber, out of sight."

"Your Majesty?"

"I’ll explain later. And Palaemon, I’d be pleased, if when we were alone, you’d call me Gabrielle..." she gave him a small grin, "again."

His natural inclination was to balk and apologize for his slip earlier, but instead he smiled, his face flushing a bit. "Yes, Your... I mean, Gabrielle." Before he could embarrass himself further, he trotted from the room to carry out her orders.

She turned to the healer who was busy addressing an assistant. "If there are any changes, notify me immediately. I’ll be tending to court business in Our Lord’s stead, but when she awakes…"

"I’ll send someone right away, Your Majesty. If she…" He stopped when he could clearly see the woman bristle at his words. "When she wakes, Your Majesty."

She nodded and pulled open the door to the larger, outer room that served as a waiting room. Autolycus was on his feet the moment she entered.

"Show me," Gabrielle said firmly.

"Show you? Show you what?"

"Show me where you found her."

"Look, I don’t think…"

"Don’t think, Autolycus!" She poked him firmly in the chest. "For once, just do what I tell you, because I am your Queen. And I’ve got an important job here that isn’t made easier by you being difficult." Her patience was at an end. "Don’t make me call over a guard to finish what Xena started in the courtyard! Any further questions, comments or complaints?"

He gulped. She looks like a pussycat, but she’s really a little tiger. "Nope, not a one." Autolycus gestured to the door with his hand. "Shall we?"

As they made their way across the courtyard, Palaemon and several soldiers fell into place next to the Queen and the thief, their strides matching her short but quick steps, their cloaks billowing out behind them from a strong gust of frigid wind.

"Your Majesty, your orders have been carried out. The palace and the grounds are secure."

"And what of our guests, Palaemon?" Gabrielle asked without turning her head. Her eyes were firmly trained on the looming tower in the corner of the Stronghold.

"They are curious, Your Majesty. But all have agreed to wait until morning for a briefing."

"How damned kind of them." Her lips curled into a sneer as they drew closer to the old watchtower entrance. She pushed open the door and held out her hand. "Someone give me a torch." Two torches were immediately thrust near her hand. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she nearly laughed. Last season, she couldn’t keep the patrons in the tavern from putting their dirty boots on the table. This being Queen thing was very interesting.

Selecting Autolycus’ torch because she knew he was having difficulty maintaining his grip, she slowly stepped through the entrance. "Autolycus, come with me. Palaemon, you stay here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Oh, sure... Take the maimed thief up into the spooky, dangerous tower, and leave behind the perfectly healthy soldier to wait at the door. Now that’s nice."

Gabrielle reached back, taking a painful grip on an ear and tugging it to her lips. "Look, you found her. And I know your sneaky, rotten mind must be good for something, so you’re going to help me figure out what happened to her. And you’re going be very, very quiet about anything we find."

His eyebrows shot skyward and his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Do you think something’s up? I figured she just fell." His eyes flicked to the cracked, wet stairs.

"I don’t know what to think. I know that the woman I love is lying in the healer’s quarters." Please don’t let her be dying, she prayed fervently. "We need to find out if this was an accident or not. Xena has some enemies."

Autolycus snorted, "Really?" and received a smack in the belly for his trouble.

"Either way, I won’t have the satraps finding out and taking advantage of the situation. If this was something more than an accident, she won’t be safe until we find out what happened."

"And if there is ‘something more’, the person who hurt her will be…?" He let his question hang in the air.

Gabrielle’s face grew hard and she unconsciously tightened her grip on his ear. "Let’s just say they won’t find the same kindness in my heart you did." She let go of the ear, patting his sore appendage in apology and beginning and an earnest exploration of the tower. "Where did you find her?"

"Right here at the bottom. She was blocking the door. I had to give it a good shove to get in."

She lowered the torch and knelt down. A thick pool of blood covered the floor, its scent making her gag just as it had in the healer’s room. "She’d been here for awhile."

"How do you know?"

"The blood. If you had found her right after, there wouldn’t be so much of it." I think. Gabrielle had grown up in a sheep-herding community. She was well acquainted with the butchering techniques and the slaughterhouse, and tried to put what little knowledge she had from that to good use. She straightened and stepped over the pool, then slowly began climbing the steps. "Don’t step in that."

"Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on it." He shivered and hopped over the crimson puddle, following her up the steps.

After a moment or two of climbing Gabrielle remarked, "She tried to stop her fall."

He raised a disbelieving brow. "And exactly what tells you this? I mean come on…"

"Look at the scratch marks in the dirt and moss on the steps and walls. There are finger marks there..." She held the torch next to the wall and pointed. "And there. I think she tried to stop herself."

They continued upward, huffing as they climbed the steep stairs. Gabrielle tried not to think about what it must have felt like to be crashing against the unyielding stones. She examined the bloodstains on the walls with a professional detachment she would have thought beyond herself under any other circumstance. But failure was not an option. Not in this. She had to remain focused or else she’d simply fall apart, and she knew it.

With each step, Gabrielle could tell that Xena’s attempts to stop herself had increased. Meaning: the farther she fell, the less ability she had to stop herself. Yeah. That would make sense. It doesn’t help very much. But it makes perfect sense.

They entered the top of the tower. Gabrielle carefully studied the floor, following her spouse's easily identifiable boot prints, clearly outlined on the dirty floor. She held the torch close to the ground, her face nearly pressed against the dirt- and dust-covered stone. She could see almost every footprint clearly, though there were a few faint marks that she couldn’t identify one way or the other. She followed them around the room and back to the steps, carefully studying them with the flickering torch and squinting eyes. She moved down the first three steps, retraced her steps, studied the prints a bit longer, and then stood up. She turned to Autolycus who was examining the walls.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a secret passage," he replied absently, his eyes darting from crack to crack.

"What makes you think there are any passages?"

"I’ll make you a deal, Your Majesty. I won’t tell you how to be a queen, if you don’t tell me how to be a thief. There are always secret passages. No self-respecting dictator would be without them." He sighed. "But I don’t see any up here."

"Then we have two problems."

"What?"

"We need to figure out who pushed Xena down these steps…"

"Pushed?"

"Uh huh." The Queen nodded.

"What makes you think she was pushed?"

"Her footsteps. She was making her way back down. When she got to about the third step, someone pushed her."

"These steps are covered with moss, how do you know she didn’t slip?"

"Simple. If she had slipped, her feet would have gone out from under her, forcing her back, and her heel forward. This would have left a narrow rut and pushed the moss forward. But the forward motion of her foot has left a wide smear, pushing the moss backward. And her foot left this step." She pointed down to the third step from the top. "Now her footprints coming up show her stepping on each step, but there’s a big gap going down…"

"From the time she was pushed until she hit the stairs for the first time," the thief finished, clearly impressed. Had Gabrielle ever considered a life of crime? He wasn’t averse to working with a partner. Especially a young, lovely blonde one who could charm the pants off...

"Exactly, and there are no footprints going down, only up. Down are the signs of trying to stop the fall." Wow. That actually makes sense. Again.

Autolycus rubbed the back of his neck with his padded hand. "So what’s the second problem?"

"Whoever pushed her, didn’t leave any footprints at all..."

Continued - Part 5

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