Part III

"Please, just let me see her, just for a moment." Jordan's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Let her in, Eph." Gabrielle's tired voice said.

Jordan moved past the Amazon and quickly knelt in front of the chair Gabrielle sat in. The young Queen's face was swollen and her eyes were red. She offered up a weak smile to the Princess.

"I won't need that dress after all." She remarked, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

"Gabrielle, tell me what's going on. Everyone has a different story. What in Tartaurus happened this morning?"

"If you're going to sleep this late you're going to miss a few of our Amazon mini-dramas, you know." Gabrielle smiled at the young Princess through her tears.

"Your Captain is the one to blame for all this." Ephiny stood protectively beside her Queen.

"Adrian...and...Xena?" Jordan looked at Gabrielle in disbelief. The Princess watched as Gabrielle's face clouded over in pain at the words. "Gabrielle, I'm so sorry."

"That bitch!" Jordan jumped up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going? I won't have you dismiss her." Gabrielle called after her friend.

"Dismiss her? I'm going to run her through!" Jordan shouted back.

"Stop her!" Gabrielle cried out.

Ephiny reached out and effortlessly grabbed the young Princess by the back of her neck.

"Owww, hey." Jordan squirmed in the strong Amazon's grip. "Let me go."

Ephiny pulled the young woman over to where Gabrielle now stood and released her.

"Gabrielle, what she did--" Jordan began.

"What she did, she didn't do alone. What do I do, Jordan? Punish every woman in the land that my Consort decides to be unfaithful with?"

"You talk like you still plan on marrying Xena?" Ephiny looked at the Queen in amazement.

"That's a subject for later." Gabrielle looked at her Amazon friend and caught the distinct look of disapproval.

"Adrian's only crime here was an ethical one. I have no right to take out my anger on her." The Queen explained to Jordan.

"But, she's responsible for half the blame!" Jordan reasoned.

"Jordan," Gabrielle said firmly. "Adrian isn't the one who I trusted."

The young Princess finally gave in to the Queen's wishes. As Gabrielle turned to look out the window, Jordan thought she looked lost in thought. As Gabrielle's eyes filled with tears once again, the Princess could only surmise the Queen's contemplation was of a certain dark-haired warrior.

Xena rode until Argo stumbled in the darkness. She removed the mare's saddle and left her free to graze. Without Gabrielle there didn't seem much point in starting a fire or hunting, for that matter. What good would food be to someone who had no stomach for it?

Xena sat on the ground with her back against a tree. For perhaps the hundredth time that day, she put her face in her hands and wept. She eased her body onto the cold earth and wrapped her own arms around her body for comfort. She didn't even bother to lie out her bedroll. What would be the point? She knew she wouldn't sleep. She was too lost in self-recrimination to relax.

Each time she thought she had no more tears in her, they would again fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks. Gods, how it hurts! The warrior hadn't felt this pain before. To love and lose, this was why people gave up, afraid to love again. The pain was too great.

The warrior lay there like that until first light. When the grayness before dawn filtered down to earth, she pulled herself onto her horse and continued her journey. She had only one place to go where she knew she would be taken in. It was ironic that the only reason she had a family and a town to go back to was because of the small girl from Potidaea who followed her to Amphipolis one spring morning.

The day's light began to wane just as the town came into view. Day or night would not have mattered to the woman on the golden mare. She never looked around, only staring straight ahead, unable to focus because of the tears. The view of the lush Greek countryside and rolling hills of her homeland could have been charred and in ruins, and still it would have been lost on the dark-haired warrior.

The door to the inn opened quietly. The customers in the tavern paid no attention to the tall warrior who laid her saddle by the door, carrying her weapons and saddlebags in her hands.

Toris was tending the bar. He helped out during busy times, leaving his farm in the capable hands of a hired man.

"Xena?" Toris knit his brow together just like Xena always did. He couldn't believe his eyes, he barely recognized his sister. "Mom?" He called to the kitchen.

Cyrene came through the doors immediately upon hearing her name. She instantly started to smile when she saw her tall daughter standing in the middle of the room, but stopped the motion with one look into her child's eyes.

"Xena, what's happened? Where is Gabrielle?" Cyrene questioned with concern.

Xena looked down at the floor and when she raised her gaze back up, tears fell from her eyes. When she tried to talk her voice shook so badly she couldn't make sense.

Cyrene put her arms around her daughter and drew her toward the back of the inn where their living quarters were. Looking back at the worried face of her son she called out.

"Toris, heat some water for a bath in Xena's room."

Toris left the tavern duties to one of the helpers and quickly ordered heated water. Moments later he knocked on the door to Xena's room before entering. Rolling in the large tub, he found his mother and sister seated on the bed. Cyrene had her arms around the dark-haired woman trying to soothe her weeping. Toris couldn't ever remember seeing Xena like this. Even as a young girl she had a tough as nails veneer. When the water was eventually ready, two young girls helped to carry it up and left it at the door. Toris brought it in himself and told his mother to call if they needed help.

Cyrene finally calmed her daughter slightly and the older woman began to help Xena undress. Cyrene couldn't remember a time when Xena looked so ill. Her leather battle skirt was gone, replaced with a shirt and trousers. The warrior's clothes were dirty and her hair a wild, wind blown mane. Xena was pale and the blue of her irises seemed almost dull, deep set, dark circles lay underneath her eyes. Xena had stepped into the tub of steaming water, and only then did she remove the shirt that still clung to her broad shoulders.

Cyrene gasped when she saw the marks on her daughter's body. "Xena, by the Gods. Who did this to you?"

"It's not---I wasn't attacked."

It was the only thing Xena could think of to say. The look on her mother's face said that she thought her daughter had been physically assaulted. Xena didn't know how to tell her mother what she'd done. How she'd taken the most precious thing in the world to her and carelessly tossed it away. That's when her crying started again. She was very nearly dehydrated and had no more tears to shed, but her body shook with sobs so great that the water in the tub began to spill over the sides.

By the time Cyrene had finally bathed her daughter and wrapped in warm blankets, lying her on the pallet in her childhood room, Xena was nearly catatonic. Her eyes glazed over; she no longer cried or spoke, she just curled herself into a tight ball and lay there.

Cyrene got a mug of steaming tea and put twice as much of a sleeping draught in it as usual. Eventually the warrior slept, but her dreams were still haunted as her long frame twitched with spasms, in seeming pain.

Cyrene went back downstairs into the Tavern to speak with her son.

"Toris," Cyrene asked. "When you come back in the morning, bring a shirt and some trousers for Xena."

"What happened to her...do you think Gabrielle is allright?" The dark-haired man asked with concern.

"I'm not sure, son, but whatever happened, it was bad enough to put Xena in this state. I think we need to get a letter to the Amazons. That's where the girls were headed last. See if you can get Daxell to use some of those messenger pigeons he's always bragging about. I'm going to write a message now, I want you to go over there tonight."

"Brie?" Xena asked sleepily.

"No, honey, it's mom." Cyrene answered her daughter.

Realization wandered into Xena face and her brow furrowed in pain. Looking up at the full moon shining through the open window, the warrior's painful expression melted into one of confusion.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Xena asked.

"All last night and all day today, it's already late evening. I used some sleeping powder, it seemed like your body needed it." Cyrene commented, smoothing back the dark bangs that fell across her daughter's eyes.

"Xena, I got a message from Gabrielle late tonight." Cyrene began.

Xena looked up with an expression of alarm. "Is she allri--"

"Nothing happened, dear, I contacted her. I was worried that perhaps something had happened to her to make you so despondent."

"Did--did she tell you what happened?" Xena said, swallowing hard and lowering her eyes to the floor.

"You can read the message if you like, but all she said was that the two of you had some problems that needed to be worked out."

Xena sat up in the bed, raising her knee and resting her elbow there. Her head fell forward, held securely in the palm of her hand.

"That's just like her isn't it...still trying to protect my image." Xena said softly. Finally the warrior turned to her mother and told the older woman the entire story.

"Oh, Xena." Cyrene sat on the bed next to her daughter and wiped away her tears. "I know it seems like the end of the world for you now, but Gabrielle loves you. You still may be able to work all of this out, but you'll have to give her some time and the space she needs to cope right now. When the hurt isn't as fresh, she may see things differently. What you did though, my daughter, it may take a very long time for Gabrielle to trust you again."

"I'll try to hold on to that, mom, but if you could have seen the look in her eyes. I hurt her so much."

"Yes, you did, there's no denying that fact. You have to own up to that, Xena." Cyrene responded.

"But, I didn't even know what I was doing, I was drunk." Xena replied in a feeble tone.

"But, nobody forced you to drink, did they?"

Xena looked up at the loving and understanding expression of her mother. The woman, who gave Xena many of her ideas on honesty and integrity, wasn't pulling any punches. Xena thought back to the times she had a chance to reverse the events of that evening. If only she would have left the party with Gabrielle, if she would have listened to that small voice of reason, if she hadn't started drinking in the first place.

"You're right. It is my fault."

"Xena, I'm not telling you this to berate you, but if and when Gabrielle is ready to talk about this, I'm sure she'll appreciate a woman who accepts her responsibilities and not someone willing to simply place blame."

Xena nodded. She thought about the reason that she started drinking in the first place. It was that damned headache, but her head seemed fine now. The warrior lay back down as her mother blew out the candles in the room. Xena finally fell into a fitful sleep, but at least she now held the hope that someday Gabrielle might forgive her.

"Look, either you want something to drink, or not!" Xena slammed an impatient fist down on the bar.

"Xena, dear," Cyrene called to her daughter. "Why don't you take a walk and get some fresh air?"

Cyrene shushed the tall warrior out from behind the bar and pushed her outside. She loved the girl, but the mood her daughter was in was beginning to drive the patrons away.

Xena found herself in the stable with Argo. The horse had been brushed and scrubbed until her coat practically glowed.

A streak of multicolored light alerted the warrior to the immortal presence before the figure actually materialized. A heartbeat later Artemis was in standing in the middle of the stable.

"Oh, just what I need." Xena turned back to the horse.

"Oh, look who has an attitude all of a sudden."

"Hey, I actually prayed to you and all I got for my trouble was a bloody nose." Xena replied hotly.

"You prayed once and expected me to pull you out of the fire? Hey, how did you get into that mess in the first place?" Artemis retorted.

Xena couldn't hide the wounded expression that took over her features. "What do you want, Artemis?" The warrior asked between clenched teeth.

"You need to get back to the Amazon village." She simply said.

"In case you're not up on current events, I'd probably end up with an arrow through my heart. I'm not exactly well loved there right now."

"Well, I don't care how you do it, but it has to be done. You have no idea what's at stake, warrior."

"Is Gabrielle allright? Does this have to do with her?" Xena asked in alarm.

"I can't say any more than I already have, Xena. In the next couple of days I'm going to provide a way for you to get back to the village. Swallow your damnable pride and make sure you take it." Artemis explained and then disappeared into a shimmer of light.

"Good morning my Queen." Artemis said softly to the young Queen.

Gabrielle just made an offering to the Goddess in her temple, but didn't expect to see her benefactor in person.

"Good Morning," Gabrielle answered, kneeling before the Goddess.

Artemis smiled down on the young woman who looked like she hadn't slept in days. She assisted the Queen to her feet and marveled again at the demeanor in one so young. Frankly, she never thought Gabrielle would be strong enough for this setback. She was about to see what lengths she could push the girl.

"Gabrielle, I understand that you're hurting right now, but there is a matter we haven't addressed yet."

The young Queen looked up questioningly.

"Xena has committed a breach of faith against the Amazon Nation. She must be arrested and brought back here for trial as swiftly as possible." The Goddess finished.

"Arrested?" Gabrielle said in a very small voice. "There must be another way."

"No, I'm afraid there isn't. You must send out riders today, immediately. Tell them to approach Xena unarmed. If the warrior sees that they will not harm her, then she will go willingly."

Tears filled Gabrielle's eyes and the Goddess' own heart nearly broke at the small woman's pain.

"Yes, Artemis," Gabrielle replied and walked out of the temple.

Gabrielle told Ephiny and Eponin of Artemis' orders to have Xena arrested. Ep, I know it's asking a lot, but I think if she sees your face, she might be less likely to hurt anyone."

"Gabrielle, do you remember how well Xena likes to beat the Tartaurus out of me?"

"I know, but it's that friendship I want her to see."

Gabrielle proceeded to give them all the instruction that Artemis had given her. Then with a safe journey blessing, they were off.

Eponin frowned as she thought of the young Queen's careful admonition that they arrest Xena unarmed. If Xena didn't want to come with, there wasn't much anyone, armed or not, would be able to do against her. If she had to go against her, she knew it would probably take Xena three blows to kill her. That would be enough to let her get in one really good hit before she died. After what Xena had done to Gabrielle, that one hit was going to feel mighty good.

"Ep?" Xena inquired, looking at her Amazon friend standing in the middle of the tavern.

The warrior looked around at the grim faces of the dozen Amazons with her and knew it wasn't going to be good news.

"Xena of Amphipolis?" Eponin inquired formally.

Once again Xena looked at the faces around her. Women she had fought and hunted with, all looking at her with contempt in their eyes. She realized it was deserved. Xena silently nodded her head at Eponin.

"As an emissary of the Amazon Nation I have been ordered to place you under arrest and bring you back to the Amazon village to await trial."

"Thanks, Artemis." Xena muttered angrily under her breath.

"By whose order?" Xena asked.

"Her Royal Majesty Queen Gabrielle." Eponin answered.

Xena realized her mother was right. Cyrene told her that Gabrielle's first reaction, after the initial pain had eased, would be anger. Looks like mom is right again.

"And, what are the charges?" Xena asked the Amazon.

Eponin looked a little uncomfortable in this position of authority, and she lowered her head slightly as she answered.

"Breach of faith."

Xena closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Allright, Ep," the warrior answered and held out both her hands.

"That won't be necessary, Xena. I won't have to restrain you until we're on Amazon land."

"Xena?" Cyrene watched as the whole episode took place and found it difficult to believe that Gabrielle could be this vindictive, but a woman scorned is always a sight to behold. "I'm coming with you, daughter."

"No, mom, please. I'll send word as soon as I know what's going on." Xena turned and embraced her mother, softly kissing the top of her head. "Thanks, mom...for being there when I needed you."

"Take care of yourself, I love you Xena."

"I love you too, mom." Xena murmured and Cyrene thought that it had been a very long time since she'd heard her daughter say those words.

The older woman watched as her daughter was led out the door by the Amazon warriors.

Gabrielle leaned back and stretched until she heard the small popping sound from her neck. She yawned and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. The warm summer air made her little pond a beautiful spot to hide out. She rose from her prone position on the rock ledge that overlooked the surface of the water and moved back to take a seat on a log under the shade of a large olive tree.

Her fingers massaged her temples, trying to free her head of the pounding noise that invaded her skull. She had her staff with her, but Ephiny would be livid since Gabrielle had managed to elude her Royal Guard and get some much-needed personal time. The young Queen simply wanted to hide in bed and pull the covers over her head. Being the Queen, however, she wasn't afforded that luxury. She figured that she would just have to hold out and have her breakdown on her own time. Her heart ached with a pain so deep she wondered if it would ever stop. Will it ever get any easier?

The young Queen wondered what was happening in Amphipolis right now and if Xena would agree to an Amazon trial. She had done everything Artemis asked of her, but the God's be damned, she would never allow Xena to be punished for her infidelity. It was true that her unfaithfulness broke Gabrielle's heart and left her with a hurt that nothing in life would be able to take away, but she would give up her throne before she would see her proud warrior humbled in that way.

A small noise alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone. She reached down to her feet and felt her fingers wrap around the smooth wood of her staff. She heard the faint metal jingle of a horse's bridle. Waiting until she knew where the sound was coming from, she jumped to her feet and swung the staff around her head and down. The stave stopped less than a handswidth away from Adrian's chest.

"Ares Balls, woman, you scared the Tartaurus out of me." Adrian said shakily.

Gabrielle pulled up the staff and fixed a neutral gaze on the Captain.

"Adrian."

"Gabrielle."

Adrian's horse wandered along the path, his bridle jingling as he shook his head back and forth.

"Jordan told me that it's only because of you that I'm still alive right now. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't put it quite that dramatically." Gabrielle answered.

The Captain was waiting for the anger, the hate to come exploding forth. She had braced herself for the strike that was surely to come from the smaller woman's staff. Adrian watched as the small blonde sat back down on the log and looked out over the water. This wasn't the scenario she'd planned on.

"What is it with you?" Adrian questioned, dropping her guard and her usual cocky demeanor.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you should be trying to take my head off, at the very least ordering one of your Amazon's to do it!"

"Is that what you want?" Gabrielle's soft, defeated voice struck at some part, deep inside the Captain.

"At least it would be expected. I don't know how to handle this." She gestured at Gabrielle, indicating the young Queen's attitude. "I mean, a fortnight ago you tried to break my ribs on the practice field. Now, after what I've done and all you can do is sit there."

"First of all," Gabrielle began. Then a sharp stab of pain momentarily interrupted her thoughts. She shook her head trying to remember what she was saying. When the fog in her brain cleared, she continued.

"First of all, you didn't do what you did by yourself. Secondly, when I fought with you on the practice field I was fighting for something that I thought still belonged to me. I've never met a warrior yet who felt the need to go on fighting after the war was lost." Gabrielle finished with sadness.

"I guess I just didn't expect this kind of complacency." Adrian said quietly.

Gabrielle stood and looked up at the taller woman as tears filled her gentle green eyes. Adrian was still able to see a glint of green fire smoldering there.

"Complacency? Adrian, the only thing that has ever truly meant anything to me has been taken away. I simply don't have anything to fight for anymore."

"What about the anger. Gods you must at least be angry with me." Adrian's voice rose an octave.

Again that soft defeated smile. "It would take too much energy."

Gabrielle began to walk away from the auburn-haired woman. Adrian roughly grabbed the bard by the shoulder and spun her around. "Hate, disrespect, loathing? You must feel at least a little."

"Maybe I will...later. Right now I'm just too damn tired." Gabrielle responded evenly.

Adrian wheeled angrily around and pulled her horses reins over the animal's head. Holding the leather strips securely in one hand she prepared to mount, but stopped abruptly. When she turned, Gabrielle was seated again, looking back over the expanse of the pond, tears streaming down her face.

"What is it in you that gives you the infinite capability to touch people this way?" Adrian said so low that it was a whisper. "Why is it when a warrior looks at you they suddenly develop a conscience?"

Adrian fought against tears that hadn't fallen from her eyes in nearly ten seasons. The Captain watched the small woman for a few heartbeats like that. When she saw Gabrielle on that very first day, she thought of her as nothing more than a farm girl, playing at being an Amazon. Now, looking at the vision of a woman who felt like she had lost everything in life that had any meaning, Adrian was taken back. The small blonde had a dignity and a bearing that all the Queens in the world couldn't equal.

Adrian turned to leave once more, but even she couldn't leave it like this.

"I may be a bitch, but even I'm not that evil." Adrian muttered, reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out a small object.

Crossing the grassy area to where the Queen sat, Adrian pressed the object into the smaller woman's hand. Gabrielle opened her hand to reveal Xena's amulet.

"Gabrielle, Xena didn't lose it. I ripped it off her once the knockout drug I gave her took effect."

Gabrielle looked up at the woman with disbelieving eyes. Then her gaze returned to the necklace in her hand.

"After you left, the night of the party. I slipped Xena a sleeping draught, enough to knock over a bear. I took the necklace, stripped her, and put those love bites on her long after she was passed out. Trust me, she couldn't have fucked anyone to save her life. I do admit to her kissing me once, but that was only because she thought it was you."

"Gabrielle, Xena never betrayed you...I did."

"But...why?" It was the only thing Gabrielle could think of to say.

"Because I wanted Xena to know what it was like to have the woman you love, hate you. You don't though, do you? That's not in you. Hades, you don't even have it in you to hate me."

Gabrielle stood and clenched the amulet in her fist. Another sharp stab of pain and now it felt like there were drums in her head.

"I'm sorry, Gabrielle."

The young Queen cried out as she fell to one knee.

"Gabrielle!"

"My head." She moaned.

"Gabrielle, is it a pounding noise?" Adrian asked in a voice suddenly filled with fear.

Gabrielle could only nod weakly; her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Gabrielle, did you eat or drink anything that belonged to Xena in the last day or two?"

Adrian received no answer as the young Queen fell unconscious in the Captain's arms.

"I should just leave you here and ride away, you know that don't you? Aw, Hades, I'm gonna hang for this one, for sure!" Adrian said as she easily lifted the smaller woman into her arms and pulled the two of them onto her horse.

"Xe?" Gabrielle murmured, trying to pull herself up.

"Easy, my Queen. It's Sartori." The healer answered. "I'm going to open the shutters a bit, I want you to open your eyes gradually."

Gabrielle followed the healer's instructions until she was sitting up, the daylight streaming into the Queen's hut. She was groggy, but the pain in her head was completely gone.

Sartori smiled and opened the door. A concerned Ephiny immediately went to Gabrielle's side. "She's been waiting quite a while to see you."

"Gabrielle, don't you ever scare me like that again." The Regent gave her friend's hand a squeeze.

"No problem. Now, how about telling me what exactly I did." The Queen responded, looking extremely confused. "The last thing I remember was talking to Adrian by the pond."

"Don't worry, she's safe and sound in the jail." The Regent remarked.

"The jail?" Gabrielle turned to look in each of their faces, trying to make some sense of the whole mess. "Someone better start at the beginning."

The Regent looked at Sartori who seemed to know the most about what happened to their young Queen. She started the story where Gabrielle's memory ended.

"Adrian brought you into the camp unconscious. She was very upset, but she kept saying the words poison and began ransacking your hut. It seemed like she was looking for something in particular. When she found an unfinished skin of wine, she gave it to me and said the poison was in the wineskin. I tried, but I just couldn't distinguish what kind of poison it was, being so diluted. I had no idea what to use as an antidote and your breathing was getting shallower and shallower. That's when Adrian went and gave herself up to Ephiny." Sartori paused to make sure Gabrielle still felt strong enough to go on and the Queen motioned for her to continue.

"The Captain gave me a leather pouch filled with powder and said it was the poison she had used on Xena and, inadvertently, you. Once I was able to determine that it was a substance called Rhadam, I knew exactly how to treat you."

Gabrielle was still in a disbelieving state. "Poison? I don't understand that part. Why would she give Xena poison? She already admitted to me that the supposed night they spent together was a ruse."

"A ruse? This is the first I'm hearing about that." Ephiny responded.

Gabrielle held up her hand. "One story at a time." She indicated that Sartori should proceed.

"Adrian has been slipping Xena this substance practically since her first day in our village. It's a combination of some very ancient plants. Rhadam attacks the brain, constricting the vessels that carry blood. Much like the pinch of the Warrior Princess. Given in correct amounts over a period of time, though, it causes agitation, unreasonable anger, and extreme headaches accompanied by a pounding in the ears. It's been known to drive men insane. Prolonged use is usually fatal."

"Which does explain why you and Xena were arguing all the time." Ephiny added.

"The only way to abate it from your system is to do exactly what I did in your case. Heavy sedation opens up the flow of blood to the brain. In the simplest term you have to sleep it off. You've been asleep for a full day."

"Xena?" Gabrielle looked terrified.

"Take it easy. I got a message this morning from Ep. Xena is with them and Eponin didn't say anything about her being ill in any way." The Regent quieted the young woman.

"So how did I get it?" Gabrielle questioned.

"One of the ways Adrian made sure Xena got a dose was in her wine. She gave Xena two full skins of Ambracian wine as gift. Evidently you poured some in the last couple of days from that skin. Sartori said that since the dosage was calculated for Xena's height and weight, it sent you flying." Ephiny replied. "Now, how about this story of what went on between Adrian and Xena?"

Gabrielle related what really happened the night of the party. Sartori reached into a pouch at her belt and produced Xena's amulet.

"You wouldn't let go of it. I had to wait till you were sedated before I could pry it from your fingers." Sartori smiled.

"So, Xena didn't, well..." Ephiny said

"No, she didn't. Yet she still gave herself up. Xena was telling the truth, she really doesn't remember what happened." Gabrielle stated.

"So, she immediately thought the worst about herself." Ephiny continued the thought.

"And, we did too." Gabrielle said sadly. "I never even thought about another explanation, I was too willing to believe the obvious one. Eph, I'm going to need your help when Xena gets here."

"Just tell me what to do, my friend."

The heavy iron and wood door creaked as the Amazon guard opened it for her Queen. Gabrielle stepped into the jail cell. Adrian looked up from the pallet she sat on, her hands in chains attached to the wall.

"Release those, please." Gabrielle commanded the guard, indicating the manacles.

"But, your majesty," the young Amazon began.

Gabrielle arched one eyebrow and fixed her gaze on the guard.

"Yes, my Queen," the Amazon muttered and quickly began releasing the chains.

Adrian loved the glare Gabrielle was intimidating the young guard with. This small slip of a woman had the ability to conjure up a look that could have a grown warrior begging at her feet.

"Thanks." Adrian said, rubbing her wrists and watching the guard leave the room.

The young Queen had her staff with her and Adrian eyed it suspiciously.

"Did you finally get angry? Is this the part where you beat the stuffing out of the prisoner with your stave?" Adrian managed a wry grin.

"Don't tempt me." Gabrielle answered ominously. "But, you did save my life."

"Let's not forget I'm the one that tried to take it, too." The Captain shot back.

"You could have run. Then later in the village, you could have let me die."

"No," Adrian shook her head slowly and her eyes softened as she looked up at the young Queen before her. "I couldn't do that, Gabrielle. Not to you."

"Jordan said that she's giving you up to Amazon law to try you. There's only one problem with that. You're not an Amazon, nor do you have any ties to the Nation. I have no jurisdiction over you, Adrian. You're free to go."

Adrian looked at the standing woman with disbelief, eyeing the open door.

"You don't have to plan an escape, you really are free to go." Gabrielle said, watching the woman's face.

Adrian stood and tentatively walked to the open door. She stopped to look back at the Queen, who simply stood in a relaxed pose, gazing across the small room at her. The Captain turned her back, but as she moved once again toward the open door, she shook her head and paused. Placing her hands on her hips, she swiveled her head around to see Gabrielle watching her every move.

"You know I won't go, don't you?"

"I know no such thing." Gabrielle answered. "I do know, however, that Jordan says you were once a woman of honor."

Adrian turned to face Gabrielle, shaking her head as in complete disbelief over her own actions

"Gabrielle, I don't think even Xena knows what she has in you. What kind of punishment are we talking here?"

"It would be up to the whole council to judge your guilt or innocence. For a crime such as this my best guess would be time in a labor camp or the lash." Gabrielle replied.

Adrian took a deep breath. She weighed the options quickly in her head. Everything in her told her to run from this place and never look back. There was a very small voice that the Captain hadn't listened to in quite a long time, though. This tiny voice told her to stay and take what she had coming. The auburn-haired woman walked across the room and stood in front of Gabrielle. Deciding to listen to the tiny voice in her head, Adrian admitted defeat to the petite Queen with a heart unlike anyone she'd ever met.

"I'll accept the Amazon judgment and any punishment that falls my way." Adrian stated. "I must be nuts, but I'll do it." She chuckled.

Gabrielle smiled at the woman and applauded the courage of her decision.

"Can I ask for one favor?" Adrian's voice caught. She wasn't used to asking for anything.

"If I have the power to grant it, yes." Gabrielle answered.

"Will you give me your word that Xena won't kill me when she finds out the truth about what happened?"

"I think you overestimate the kind of power I have over Xena, but you have my word that I'll do my best."

"With you, Gabrielle, that's all that a warrior need ask for." Adrian offered up a wry grin.

"You won't need the chains anymore and I'll leave the door to the cell open. I could put you under house arrest, but I think, for your own safety, you may want to stay in the jail." Gabrielle explained.

"You mean if I stayed out in the village I could wake up in the morning with a dagger in my chest via some loyal Amazon?" Adrian quipped.

"Something like that," Gabrielle said. Then the young Queen turned her back and was gone.

"Xena," Eponin called the party to a halt, dismounting her own horse. We're approaching the edge of our land. I need to, uhm..." The Amazon indicated the wrist manacles in her hands.

Xena arched an eyebrow that disappeared under ebony bangs. She looked at the iron restraints in her friend's hand and took a deep breath. This went against everything inside of her, but she wanted to prove to Gabrielle that she was willing to accept punishment for her behavior.

"Front or back?" Xena questioned.

"Back." Eponin answered.

Xena held her hands behind her and suddenly found herself taking in deep gulps of air, forcing tears down and remembering the last time she did this. It was a very different scenario when she and her bard made love by a lake in the countryside of Macedon.

Eponin shackled the Warrior's wrists together and thought how differently this was going. Not how she planned it at all. Xena wasn't exactly being her usual Warrior Princess self. She did as she was directed and hadn't said a word during the whole trip; not that anyone would talk to her. She was amazed at the way the dark-haired woman silently endured the glares of the Amazon warriors around her.

When they stopped to make camp last night, she watched as Xena sat apart from the others. At one point she awoke in the middle of the night to find the warrior seated on the ground, her back against a tree and the rays of the moon lighting up her face. Xena's eyes were raised to the dark sky and silent tears streaked her face. Her friend's pain touched her deeply and Eponin realized, for the first time during this whole mess, that there was never just one side to any story.

Gabrielle's throne was set up on a dais much like the day that Jordan and her party rode into the village. Just as it was then, Gabrielle, her Regent, and the Royal Guard made an impressive sight in masks and their Amazon finest. Xena expected to see more of the village turn out to see the Warrior Princess brought back in chains. She was unaware that Gabrielle had personally explained and requested that her Amazons not be present at the display. She didn't want to humiliate Xena anymore than the warrior wanted to be in this position.

Xena finally raised her eyes and felt an old familiar heat creep up her body. She suddenly became very uncomfortable in her saddle as the party drew nearer to the Queen's throne. Oh, yes...Gabrielle is very mad.

The young Queen sat in the same outfit that she wore when on the night she officiated over her first Amazon ceremony. It also happened to be the outfit she was wearing when her gentle seduction of the dark-haired warrior had finally come to its fruition. Barely enough to be called an outfit; the soft leather of the loincloth showed the Queen's body off to great advantage.

Gabrielle's emerald eyes sparkled and from behind her mask, at this distance, she could watch every move her warrior made without being noticed. Her heart fluttered slightly when she saw the warrior's look of desire and the flush that slowly rose up her neck.

The pain in Xena's eyes prompted Gabrielle to swallow hard. She caught herself from rushing forth and simply throwing her arms around her lover to ease the woman's distress. Gabrielle had to remind herself of who she was and why she was doing this. Artemis was still her patron and Goddess knows she didn't need another God mad at her. She already had her hands full with Ares' intense dislike of her. She, along with Ephiny's help would comply with Artemis' order to try Xena for Breach of Faith.

"Xena of Amphipolis," Ephiny began. "You have been arrested and returned to the Amazon village to be tried for crimes committed against the Amazon Nation. The charge against you is Breach of Faith. How does the defendant plead?"

Xena looked up at Gabrielle and noticed how her green eyes sparkled behind the Queen's mask. The warrior's brow knit together in confusion. Those were Gabrielle's smiling eyes, or the ones that peeked through when she was up to something truly mischievous.

"Does the prisoner plead guilty?" Ephiny said slowly, enunciating the last word carefully.

Now, Xena looked at Ephiny in confusion. The Regent was never supposed to lead a person into pleading one way or another like that. The warrior had planned on pleading guilty all along, but now she felt she had to, simply to see what all this was about.

"Guilty?" Xena said, more a question than a statement.

Gabrielle raised a hand and motioned to a couple of the Royal Guard. "Detain the prisoner to await her judgment."

"Judgment? Wait a minute, don't I get a trial?" Xena stammered, as two guards attempted to pull her away.

Gabrielle leaned down from the dais. "Do you want one?"

What in Hades is this all about? Of course I want one! Xena then watched the way Gabrielle tilted her mask, as if she were smiling at her. The warrior cast a curious glance at all of the Amazons on the dais. They looked equally amused. Finally directing her gaze at Eponin, she was glad at least one other person looked as confused as she did. She had no idea what was causing the breach in protocol, but decided to go with it.

"No?" She again hesitantly answered.

Gabrielle simply waved her hand and Xena was escorted away.

"What was that all about?" Eponin said between clenched teeth.

Once Xena was out of sight Gabrielle pulled off her mask. "It's a long, but wonderful story, Ep. Let Ephiny fill you in. I have a warrior to pronounce sentence on."

The two members of the Royal Guard stopped in front of the Queen's hut and began to climb the stairs up the veranda.

"Why aren't we going to the jail?" Xena questioned.

"We're full up there." One of the Guards answered.

"Full up?" Xena returned as she was shoved inside the room.

Moments later Gabrielle came through the door and the breathing of three adult women stopped altogether for a full heartbeat.

"Please, take those off," the Queen indicated the manacles.

The Guard released the warrior from her restraints and she flexed her wrists to work out the stiffness. Gabrielle, in the meantime, walked across the room and bent down, placing her ceremonial mask in a chest by the bed. The view of the young Queen from that angle was breathtaking, but Xena realized there were others in the room who thought so too.

"What do you think you're looking at?" The warrior growled at the two Guards.

"Nothing." They said in unison, nearly tripping over their own feet in their haste to put some distance between themselves, and the now free warrior.

Gabrielle stood, and with her back still toward her warrior, she smiled. There was something supremely satisfying in hearing that tone of possessiveness in Xena's voice.

"You are dismissed." Gabrielle said, turning and watching the Guards move cautiously past the tall warrior.

Gabrielle finally walked over and looked into her Warrior's face. She couldn't remember ever having seen Xena look so thin. Her usually tanned face was paler than it normally was. The dark circles under her eyes matched the ones on Gabrielle's face.

Gabrielle I--" Xena started.

Gabrielle's fingers extended forward and covered her lover's lips, interrupting the words. The Queen reached up and placed her lips over Xena's mouth and her own fingers. The warrior and Queen alike, both whimpered into the kiss.

Xena was too stunned to even move. All she knew was that she didn't want this incredible feeling to ever end. Her heart told her that her bard was willing to forgive her, but a small part of the warrior feared that the young Queen was toying with her emotions. Under normal circumstances Gabrielle wouldn't react that way, but Xena had pushed the young woman, perhaps to her limit.

Gabrielle could see that her Warrior was trying to stay in control. The Queen had backed Xena against the wall; the warrior's palms braced flat against the smooth wooden surface. Xena's lips never stopped their participation in the kiss, however. Eventually, Gabrielle moved her kisses along the warrior's jaw and down her neck.

"Gabrielle," Xena breathed heavily, I want you to know...that I'm willing...Oh, Gods...I'm willing to accept... whatever punishment you...want to hand down. I know I hurt you--"

"I've given the matter ...careful...consideration..." Gabrielle punctuated each pause with a kiss or a nip of the smooth flesh of the warrior's neck. "My ruling is that I find you innocent of all charges."

"Does that mean you forgive me, Brie?" Xena closed her eyes, waiting for the answer.

"Oh, Xe...Xena?" Gabrielle waited for her warrior to open her eyes. "Please forgive me, my love."

"Forgive you? For what?" Xena asked, her arms suddenly finding the will to move. They slipped easily around the Queen's body.

"For doubting you. I should have believed in you. I told Artemis that I trusted you completely, but I should have trusted in you, even when you didn't trust yourself."

Gabrielle pulled back and told Xena everything that she learned from Adrian, with the exception of the poison. When the Queen had finished her tale, she dangled Xena's amulet before the dark-haired woman. Gabrielle had the clasp fixed and it was once again the symbol of her heart for her Warrior. As she moved to place it over the warrior's head, Xena pulled back slightly.

"Things could have turned out differently that night. I should have listened to you. Are you sure, Brie?"

"Xena, you're sorry and I forgive you. I'm sorry and you forgive me. Please, let's make this a part of our past so we don't have to worry about it ever again."

Xena's blue eyes sparkled and she reached out to stroke the face of the woman she loved more than life. She lowered her head and Gabrielle placed the chain around her neck.

"I love you, Xena...through everything, I never stopped loving you."

"Oh, Brie...I can be so proud sometimes, but never, ever doubt my love for you." Xena replied as tears of a different kind filled her eyes.

"Come and sit down, I need to tell you the rest." Gabrielle pulled Xena to sit on the furs and cushions in front of the empty fireplace.

"The rest?"

"Remember the headaches you were having...are you still having any?"

"No, as a matter of fact, they stopped when I got home." Xena answered confusion evident on her face.

Xena nodded once again when Gabrielle described the pain as a pounding in her ears. "How do you know that?"

It was a poison. Sartori said it blocked the flow of blood to the brain, causing anger, headaches, and the noise. That's why you seemed so angry with me all the time. It wasn't you, Xe, it was the drug."

"That evil bitch." Xena muttered and Gabrielle realized the warrior referred to Adrian. "What was this stuff?"

"Sartori called it, Rhadam. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I've heard of it, but I haven't seen any for a good many seasons. That stuff is lethal. Enough of it and your brain will explode. How did you find out she did this, surely she wasn't stupid enough to come right out and confess to poisoning the Queen's Consort?" Xena gave a wry smile to the smaller woman in her arms.

"Nooo," Gabrielle said slowly, drawing the word out as she tried to think of a way to explain. Just saying it all at once ought to work. "But, she did confess to poisoning the Queen."

Gabrielle felt Xena's whole body tense at those words. "You?" Xena asked in a tightly controlled voice.

"It was an accident, Xe. I drank from the Ambracian wineskins she gave you, the poison was in the wine." Gabrielle hurriedly explained.

"You?" Was still the only word the warrior could verbalize.

Suddenly Xena was on her feet and moving out of the hut. She remembered when the members of the Royal Guard said the jail was "full up". That's the first place she headed. Gabrielle was calling her name, but she didn't stop to listen.

When the warrior burst through the main door, Adrian wondered what the commotion was about. When she saw Xena moving through the open door of her cell, she felt her mouth go dry and her knees grow weak.

"Xena." Adrian raised her hands and backed up.

Xena was across the room in two long strides and by the time Gabrielle got there, Adrian's feet were barely touching the ground, the Warrior Princess had her by the throat and was slowly squeezing the life out of her.

"Xena!" Gabrielle shouted. "I gave her my word that you wouldn't hurt her."

"You're about to break that promise because I'm going to cut her heart out. Me, I can believe, but Gabrielle?" Xena hissed the last sentence.

The warrior dropped the Captain to the floor and, by habit, reached over her right shoulder for a sword that wasn't there. Gabrielle thanked the Gods that Xena was unarmed. The look in her lover's eye told her that Adrian would have been dead had it been otherwise. The Queen took that momentary lapse when Xena realized her sword was not strapped to her back and positioned herself between the two warriors.

"Gabrielle..." Xena drawled in that slow warning tone.

"Xe, I gave her my word. She agreed to accept Amazon law and whatever punishment we hand down. We've already found her guilty and the council meets this afternoon for sentencing.

Xena glared past Gabrielle at Adrian for a few heartbeats, but to the Captain it seemed an eternity.

"Whatever they sentence you with...it won't be enough." Xena hissed.

"Xe...come on, please, love lets go." Gabrielle said softly as she pulled Xena away from the Captain.

The Queen and her warrior left the jail, arm in arm.

Adrian sat in front of a long wooden table. As Queen, Gabrielle sat in the middle of the council, but in this case did not get a vote since she was the victim of the crime. Three of her Amazon sisters sat to each side of her. Ephiny, as Regent, read the charges aloud then asked the prisoner to come forward and stand for sentencing.

"Adrian of Chalcis, after having been found guilty of crimes against the Amazon Nation your sentence has been agreed upon. Three moons or thirty lashes, the sentence will start tomorrow morning. The choice is yours. The first choice will be three moons in the labor camp in Olynthus. Your second choice is to accept thirty lashes of the whip. At the conclusion of either your debt will be considered paid. How do you choose?" Ephiny asked.

Adrian swallowed hard. Labor camps weren't prisons, but they generally weren't much better. Thirty lashes with the whip was a lot. The punishment would be over faster, but to wear the scars of the whip, especially for a warrior, that was a hard thing.

"I'll take the lash, but on one condition. I'm invoking my Right of the Accused." Adrian said to the murmurs of the crowd of onlookers.

"You're not an Amazon," Ephiny sneered, "you can't invoke that right."

"On the contrary, my Regent," Elda, a council member on Gabrielle's left spoke up. The Captain has given herself over to Amazon law and has agreed to accept Amazon punishment, so for that reason she does indeed have the rights of an Amazon in this case."

Gabrielle knew what the Right of the Accused was from her readings in the scrolls. The young Queen wondered how on earth Adrian found out about the clause. She sat there praying that the Captain wasn't going to ask for what she thought she might.

Ephiny sighed deeply and looked at Gabrielle before continuing.

"By invoking the Right of the Accused you may request that your punishment be handed out by the Amazon of your choosing. The punishment that has been agreed on is thirty lashes with the whip. Who do you request mete out the punishment.

Every ear that heard the ruling knew what the prisoner was about to say; only some of them were only half right about why.

"Queen Gabrielle." The prisoner answered.

Gabrielle stood in front of the open window in the Queen's hut, the light of the waning moon spreading brightly across her skin. Xena sat on the cushions by the fire and watched her silent lover as Gabrielle contemplated what tomorrow would bring. The warrior sighed and thanked Artemis for her part in bringing her back here. She didn't know how long she would have lasted without Gabrielle's love. Xena watched as the moon filtered through the strands of the bard's hair, her eyes traveled across the young woman's body and as always, wondered what Gabrielle saw in her.

Xena rose and walked up behind the young Queen.

"You're thinking too much." The warrior stated. "This isn't the first time you've had to sentence someone like this.

It's the first time that I've had to carry out the punishment." Gabrielle said in a shaky voice.

Xena moved her hands to the young woman's shoulders and could feel the tension in the way the flesh bunched and tightened. She began to massage the stress from the Queen's muscles, finally placing a kiss on her bard's neck and drawing her close.

"Gabrielle, you are a Queen, the Ruler and final authority of this Nation. There are times when being a ruler means making and carrying out unpleasant tasks, and hard decisions. As a Ruler, it's up to you to show your people that you would never ask them to do something that you yourself are not willing to do. It's not very fun to be in charge, is it?" Xena said the last with a smile and a kiss to the young Queen's cheek.

"But, what will you think of me?" Gabrielle asked.

"What? Brie, what do you mean?"

"Seeing me use the whip on someone. It's a cruel punishment and I don't like it. I--" Gabrielle couldn't finish because her tears overtook her.

"Oh, Brie," Xena turned the woman around and held her tightly in her arms. "Someone has committed a crime and it's the duty of whoever is in charge to carry of the punishment for that crime. I wouldn't expect you to shirk your duty for anyone, my heart, especially for me."

Xena tenderly kissed the small woman she held in her arms. Gods, how I missed this. The warrior ran her kisses along her lover's jaw, just underneath her ear.

"Gabrielle, I love you and not because you're a Queen or an Amazon, or a bard, or because you have a smile that can make my knees go weak, or even because you have the most beautiful green eyes the Gods ever bestowed to any mortal woman. I love you, my heart, because of who and what you are...deep in here." Xena said as she pressed the palm of her hand over the bard's heart.

"I would never ask you to be less than you are," she kissed along the edge of the young Queen's ear and felt the shiver of the smaller woman's body that accompanied that act. "Just as you have never asked it of me." She whispered.

The pair slept little that night and it wasn't because of frustration or anger. They talked and held one another as the embers of the fire turned into small glowing coals. For that night, alone and away from the eyes of the world, they weren't an Amazon Queen and the Warrior Princess. They simply became two women in love.

Xena watched as Gabrielle stood by impassively as Adrian was stripped from the waist up and placed between two poles, each as thick as a large tree, set into the ground. Each of the Captain's wrists, were tied with a length of rope to a metal ring set into the pole.

Xena had given her young lover all the tips and techniques, any subtle nuances she could think of regarding the use of the whip. Gabrielle was technically proficient with her own whip, which was a six-foot length of braided leather, as opposed to the eight-foot bullwhip that Xena favored. The warrior taught Gabrielle everything from how far away to stand to how to clean the leather after.

Xena kept herself at a distance from the young Queen, knowing this was the time that Gabrielle needed to be inside herself. The small blonde wore her customary Amazon leathers and had her hair pulled back into a loose braid down her back. She walked over to where Adrian was restrained and retied the ropes to give the Captain more slack in her arms. Xena smiled to herself as she watched. Her bard had listened well. If there was no slack, the tighter your back muscles would be and the more it would not only hurt, but cut as well.

Adrian's head turned and she noted the expression on the young Queen's face. Trepidation tinged with a bit of fear.

"Gabrielle, have you ever done this before?" Adrian asked, trying to swallow but finding out her mouth had gone dry.

"I find this an most peculiar time to ask that question." Gabrielle responded. "Just remember that nothing ever hurts as bad as you think it will. Have you ever felt the whip?"

"Once in a brothel in Corinth, but I guess that's not the same thing, huh?" The Captain said with a grin full of bravado.

Gabrielle shook her head at the woman and tried to hide the beginnings of a smile. "No, not exactly." The Queen's face turned serious and she placed an arm on Adrian's shoulder.

"I'll make it as quick as I possibly can." Gabrielle said in a low voice and positioned herself behind the restrained prisoner.

Gabrielle extended her right arm and let the coils of the leather whip stretch out to their full length. She whipped the braided leather into the air to untangle its length, then ran her hand along it's span. Xena told her the softer the leather, the less of a bite and her whip had been oiled and softened to perfection.

The first strike was the hardest on Gabrielle, yet the easiest on the prisoner. By the time a dozen passes had been completed, Adrian's small whimpers turned into groans and Gabrielle was soaked in sweat. On number fifteen, the Queen switched hands and worked the opposite side of the prisoner's back. Xena also taught her to start out with her dominant hand, that way by the time you switched and the prisoner was in continual pain, your lesser hand would strike with a lighter touch.

By number twenty, the welts began to split open and each strike of the leather began to cut deeper into the flesh. By number twenty-five, Gabrielle had tears in her own eyes as Adrian lost her footing and hung from her wrists. Gabrielle refused to stop and in moments the punishment was complete. If any Amazon that witnessed the punishment on that day, ever thought Adrian chose Gabrielle to wield the whip because she thought the sensitive Queen would show leniency, they quickly learned that was not the case.

Ephiny stood in front of the near unconscious woman and read the official declaration. It ended simply with; "Your debt has been paid."

Gabrielle turned and walked a few feet, dropping her whip into a bucket of water that one of the guards provided. The young Queen watched for a few heartbeats as her leather whip tinged the water a crimson color, then she continued walking, entering her own hut.

Xena already stood inside their hut and, opening her arms, she beckoned the Queen into her embrace. The warrior had assisted two young girls in filling the Queen's bath inside the hut and now Xena tenderly undressed her lover and helped her into the steaming water. Gabrielle hadn't said a word, but her tears continued to run down her face. The warrior gently washed her lover, helping her from the tub and wrapping her in a warm blanket. She laid down on the furs and cushions and wrapped strong arms around the still crying woman, rocking her gently.

"I d-don't f-feel much like a Queen right n-now." Gabrielle sobbed against her lover's shoulder.

"But, you are, my heart," Xena responded. "More than even you know."

Gabrielle stood on the veranda of the Queen's hut, anxiously peering down the well-worn path that led out of the village. A strong pair of hands slipped around her waist while soft lips caressed her neck.

"Mmmm." Gabrielle moaned, closing her eyes at the feel and the scent of her lover.

Leaning back even further into the embrace, she encountered the sensation of cold metal against her back. Turning in her lover's arms, she found herself looking at a familiar sight. Xena stood in her customary battle skirt; her scrolled armor breastplate set firmly in place.

"Hey, you look good." Gabrielle smiled.

"But, this is what you've seen me wear everyday for the past five seasons." Xena replied, grinning down at her lover.

She knew how Gabrielle felt about her revealing leather attire. The warrior had never really thought of her body as beautiful. It served its purpose and that was always enough, but then there was the way her bard looked at her sometimes Every once in a while she would catch the young woman in a definite daydream state, the bard's eyes running the length of the warrior's legs.

She'd been wearing trousers and a tunic long enough. Besides Gabrielle's definite affinity for the leather garb, Xena was anxious to feel like her old self again. Her lover would soon have the chance to see her in her trousers again for their wedding. Xena recalled yesterday afternoon as she stood semi-patiently for another fitting. When they first showed her the design, she balked at the colors. They had her wearing her traditional black and purple, from her days as Conqueror. The warrior categorically refused, instead choosing the light blue color of the Queen's Champion.

Gabrielle kissed the skin of Xena's chest just above her armor effectively bringing the warrior out of her own thoughts.

"Mmmm, you taste good, too." Gabrielle teased with a seductive smile.

"I take it that you're feeling better today?" Xena asked.

Gabrielle nodded her head. She spent the remainder of the day of Adrian's punishment in her own hut wrapped around the warrior. She slept later than usual yesterday and then spent the afternoon with the Captain in the healer's hut. Ephiny took on the task of dealing with some of the ceremony preparations, so Gabrielle wouldn't feel so overwhelmed. She was finally feeling a little more like her old self again. Once her mother and Lila got here, they could see to some of the smaller details of the ceremony.

"You know they won't be here for another candlemark or so." Xena said. The warrior watched the young Queen's face with amusement.

"How come you always know what I'm thinking?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena chuckled. "Because that's what a good wife does. Besides, my heart, you have a look on your face like a child on Solstice Eve. That can only mean that you're looking forward to something and I'd say that something, is seeing our families again."

"We could ride out to meet them." Gabrielle offered.

"You?" Xena asked with disbelief, "You want to ride somewhere?" Xena teased the small woman in her arms. Gods, this feels so good!

"Well, riding behind you in the saddle does give me an excuse to put my arms around you." Gabrielle quipped right back at the dark-haired warrior. Gods, this feels so good!

"Ahh, the truth comes out," Xena responded. "Well, now what if I wanted you to ride in front of me so I could hold you in my arms?"

Gabrielle took a heartbeat to think about it as she smiled mischievously up at the warrior.

"Hhmmm, well, a good wife would never say no to her warrior." The young Queen said, smiling at the double entendre.

Xena and the Queen met their families halfway to the village. The warrior ended up getting her way and the pair made a striking impression as always on the large golden mare. Gabrielle sat in front of the warrior; Xena held Argo's reins in one hand, her other wrapped loosely around her bard's waist. The two women thoroughly enjoyed the ride, both proclaiming it much too short. Xena spent most of the trip nuzzling the soft skin of the young Queen's neck.

When they caught up with the two wagons that carried their family members, Toris was just splitting off to go stay in the Centaur village until the ceremony, which was still four days off. One wagon carried Cyrene and a huge amount of food that she promised the village cooks she would shop for on her way there. The other wagon carried Gabrielle's mother and her younger sister.

The young Queen's father was suspiciously absent, but that didn't come as a great surprise to Gabrielle. Xena, on the other hand, was hoping Herodotus would have a change of heart and want to see his oldest daughter married. She had hoped he would bury the hatchet and want to be a part of the event. Instead his absence was a glaring reminder to the young Queen of all she didn't know about her parents. Hecuba's mysterious message, the last time they met, hadn't been far from Gabrielle's thoughts as her wedding day drew closer.

Hugs and kisses went around and Gabrielle couldn't believe that Xena not only allowed the contact from Hecuba and Lila, but the tall woman seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. Toris swept Gabrielle into his arms as he always did, ignoring his sister's mock glare.

"This is your last chance, Gabrielle. Leave this no good warrior and become a farmer's wife." He quipped.

"Oh, Toris, as tempting as that does sound," Gabrielle said with a look that said being a farmer's wife was the last thing on earth she wanted to be, "I think I'll stick with what I've got."

"Always the diplomatic Queen." Toris laughed and released the young woman.

After they had stopped to visit for nearly a half a candlemark, Toris grabbed his mount's reins to head off to the Centaur camp.

"Toris," Gabrielle called. "I wonder if I could walk with you for a few minutes?"

"Sure, Gabrielle." The dark-haired man answered.

Xena directed a questioning look at her lover. Gabrielle drew close to the warrior and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'll catch up, love. There's something I just thought of asking Toris. I'll fill you in later, 'kay?" Gabrielle's emerald green eyes with the tiny flecks of pure gold sparkled in the sunlight and the warrior was powerless to refuse her anything. Xena lost the power of speech for a quick moment and could only nod at the beautiful young Queen.

Shaking her head once Gabrielle turned and walked away with her brother, Xena told the women and the Amazons accompanying them that they would walk for a bit until Gabrielle caught up with them. Xena barely had to nod her head in Gabrielle's direction and three Amazons quickly jumped up into the trees to follow the Queen.

"Gabrielle," Toris slowly drawled her name and the young Queen thought how much like her lover the timbre of his voice was. Of course, her Warrior had the ability to turn her bones into warm liquid with that drawl.

"Don't look up, but I think someone is in the tree watching us," Toris' hand went to the hilt of his sword.

Gabrielle's lilting laughter filled the air around them. Her arm slipped through the tall young man's and her hand stayed his sword.

"It's okay, they're just watching me. I'm sure about half a heartbeat after you and I walked away, your sister sent a few guards to keep tabs. Being Queen doesn't afford a lot of private time. The only time they allow me out of their sight is when I'm with Xena."

"You two really know each other well, don't you?" Toris asked in amazement.

"Some days better than others." Gabrielle tossed back, still smiling. "Toris, I wanted to ask you for a favor." She continued.

"It's obvious Herodotus won't be here for our Joining and I'm much too petrified to walk down the steps of the temple by myself. I know that your love and acceptance of Xena and I means a great deal to her. Actually, it means a lot to me too. I wonder if I could talk you into escorting me down the temple steps?"

Gabrielle was almost afraid the dark-haired man would turn her down. Toris stopped walking and let go his horses halter to take both of Gabrielle's small hands within his own.

"Gabrielle, seeing you and Xena together, watching the love you two share. Well, in a way it's almost like a balm to my own heart. I wandered around for so long with such pain inside me that didn't think I could ever stop hurting. Then I met up with you two, remember?"

Gabrielle smiled and nodded her head, remembering the man whom Xena introduced with so much contempt that fall day.

"Knowing that you and my sister can have something so special like this, it gives my own heart hope that it will happen for me too, someday. I'd be honored to escort you, Gabrielle."

"You don't mind then?" Gabrielle asked Xena as the two women walked back to their own hut.

"Of course not, I'm actually kind of glad Toris will be standing there. Moral support." She winked at the small blonde.

"Oh?" Gabrielle chuckled. "You make this sound like you're getting married at sword point, my Warrior." Gabrielle replied.

"Weelll," Xena drew the word out as she climbed the steps of the veranda.

Gabrielle playfully swatted the retreating backside of the dark-haired woman in front of her. Xena turned quickly and wrapped a strong arm around the Queen, pinning the smaller woman's arms, and then the warrior began to tickle her lover, Gabrielle unable to stop giggling.

A commotion at the entrance to the village drew their attention away from one another. Three Amazon warrior's rode up with a man screaming at the top of his lungs that his wife was being held by vicious Amazon killers against her will.

"Oh no," the two lovers said in unison. The man tied between Eponin and a younger warrior named Tarazon was Gabrielle's father, Herodotus.

Villagers came to see what the commotion was, along with Hecuba, Lila, and Cyrene. In the meantime, Eponin had to practically drag the man close to the veranda so they could speak to Gabrielle.

"There she is. There's the harlot that's keeping my wife away from me!" The man spat.

Gabrielle didn't know if he meant her or Xena, but she wasn't of a mind to put up with the man's foolishness. This time they were in her home.

Gabrielle pulled away from her lover slightly and Xena watched the young Queen, wondering what she would do.

"I'm sorry your majesty," Eponin addressed Gabrielle as she pulled a knife and sliced through the cords that held the man's wrists together. "But, he was extremely belligerent and struck one of the younger warriors."

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow at the news. It was peculiar that at this very moment she felt very little for the man standing on the ground below her. Growing up, Gabrielle had tried in every way she knew how to gain the love and acceptance of the man that acted like she wasn't even in the room half the time. After his behavior the last time they met, even more so now, she truly believed that this man with such a bitter heart could not be her father. She took a deep breath and stepped to the railing of the veranda.

"You are welcome to attend my Joining ceremony, of course, Herodotus, but I must ask you to be respectful, not only to myself, but to my subjects."

The man's name sounded foreign, coming from Gabrielle's lips that way. He sneered as he looked up at the young Queen with contempt.

"Respect...Why? You're no Queen. Didn't you tell them that you're just a poor farm girl?" He scoffed.

Xena came up to the porch railing beside her lover and lightly placed a hand on the Queen's shoulder. The warmth seemed to infuse Gabrielle with a renewed strength and she continued, just as calmly as before.

"I don't ask you to treat me as anything special. Just give me the respect that every human being deserves." Gabrielle said.

"Human?" The older man's voice went up an octave and her looked over to where his wife stood. "You never even told her!" He shouted in Hecuba's direction.

Hecuba made her way to stand in front of the angry man. "Herodotus, please, just go home. Don't ruin this time for Gabrielle." The older woman pleaded.

Herodotus looked as if he were going to explode at the thought of his wife siding against him. Even though his next move was still a flicker in his eye, Xena caught it. Gabrielle turned in surprise as her Warrior vaulted her body over the porch rail to land directly behind the man. As her feet hit the ground, his arm was in mid air to strike the older woman in front of him.

Xena caught the man's wrist in a grip that tore a howl from his throat.

"You draw this back again and I'll see to it you leave with a stump." Xena whispered in a low ominous voice that was so quiet only he and Hecuba could hear it.

Gabrielle couldn't make out what the warrior said, but she watched as the man's face took on a white pallor and he licked his lips, trying hard to swallow. Gabrielle's mind was still a few sentences back where Herodotus practically accused her of not being human. The Queen walked down the stairs and planted herself firmly in front of the man. Green fire flashed from her eyes and suddenly she looked very much like an Amazon Queen.

"Herodotus, you will be escorted off Amazon land, and if I ever so much as hear a rumor that you ever raised your hand against my mother, my sister, or any one of my people...so help me, I'll come after you myself."

Gabrielle nodded to Eponin who took great satisfaction in carrying out her Queen's orders.

"Thanks." Gabrielle smiled up at her Consort.

Turning to Hecuba, the young Queen's eyes took on a look of anger and concern.

"Mother...we need to talk." Gabrielle said as she led the older woman up the stairs to her hut.

"I'm so sorry, Gabrielle, I didn't think he'd follow us." Hecuba sat in front of the young Queen, the older woman wringing her hands nervously.

"Mother," Gabrielle stopped and took a deep breath. She didn't want her voice to carry that Queen's tone, not with her mother. "Mother," she began again in a softer manner. "I need to know the truth. No cryptic messages this time, no semantics or word games. I just want to know who my father is."

Hecuba sat with her head bowed, listening to her daughter's entreaty. She sat that way until Gabrielle felt that the older woman was refusing her request.

"Mother, all this time you've kept this secret, but don't you know that I've always felt that something was out of place, that something wasn't right about me? For nearly all the seasons of my life I felt like there was something wrong with me, that it was my fault. I refuse to believe that anymore, mother. I refuse to believe that I'm the different one. Please, please tell me the truth." Gabrielle pleaded tearfully.

"Oh, Gabrielle," Hecuba said, tears in her own eyes. The older woman cupped her daughter's face gently. "There has never been anything wrong with you...don't you know how gifted you are? If you thought you were different, it was only because those around you paled in comparison."

"And, Herodotus?" Gabrielle questioned.

"No, my daughter...Herodotus was never your father. I thought...he promised he would be good to you...It's my fault that you felt so unloved as a child." Hecuba's tears fell freely now.

"Oh, mother," Gabrielle moved beside the woman and put her arms around the weeping woman. "I'm glad I finally know, please, don't cry."

Hecuba let herself be comforted by her oldest child, fearing to tell the rest of the story. She should have known Gabrielle would not let it go.

"So, if it isn't Herodotus...who is it?" The young Queen tentatively asked.

"Gabrielle, do you truly want to know? Wait--" Hecuba motioned for her daughter to let her continue. "--Even if it is someone you would rather not know about?"

Gabrielle thought about that statement. Could it possibly be someone that she would be better off not knowing about? What would she do then? But, could the truth ever hurt her more than the childhood she'd already experienced? The young Queen only knew one thing, and that was if she had Xena by her side, she would be able to face anything.

"Yes, mother. I truly want to know who my father is." Gabrielle replied calmly.

"Then the first thing we'll need to do is go to the temple of Artemis." Hecuba rose and Gabrielle did likewise, following her mother from the hut.

Xena sat on the steps of the porch, knowing Gabrielle would want some privacy with her mother. She was surprised when the two came out of the hut after so short a time. She was just getting prepared to find something to occupy her time.

"I want Xena to come too." Gabrielle said and Hecuba nodded her head.

Gabrielle explained to her Warrior what little she knew as she walked along the familiar path to the temple, her mother a few strides in front of them.

Once in front of the altar that was made of polished wood so smooth it fairly glowed, Gabrielle and Xena took a step back as Hecuba knelt and prepared an offering. The two lovers watched in confusion as the older woman pulled a light chain from around her neck. She weighed it momentarily in the palm of her hand, then slipped a ring off of the chain. She placed the golden ring onto the wooden altar.

The familiar form of the Goddess Artemis materialized at once next to where Hecuba knelt. The tall woman bent and with gentle hands assisted Hecuba to her feet.

"So, you've come at last, my friend." Artemis spoke to Gabrielle's mother.

"It's time." Hecuba responded.

The warrior and the young Queen exchanged a look of surprise, if not awe, at the look of friendship that existed between the Goddess and Gabrielle's mother. It was either the transparency of their thoughts or the look on their faces, but Hecuba and Artemis turned around at the same time and laughed at the two of them.

It was a rather solemn and frightening occasion for her young daughter, but Hecuba couldn't resist trying to make the moment a little lighter.

"And, you thought your mother never got around." She said coyly.

Gabrielle's nervous smile prompted Xena to place an arm around her shoulder, trying to give her lover a focal point from which to draw strength.

"Gabrielle, is it true, that you want to know who your real father is...no matter what the consequences might be?" Artemis asked her young Queen.

Gabrielle looked at the warrior next to her, then placed a worried gaze at her mother and Artemis.

"You guys make it sound like it's somebody horrible." She responded with the same worried look.

"No, Gabrielle," Artemis chuckled and Xena could feel some of the tension leave the smaller woman's body. "It's simply that there are circumstances," Artemis couldn't help but look at Xena when she said this, "that may inhibit your acceptance of your father."

"I've waited so long," Gabrielle said, "to know why I am the way I am. I am afraid...afraid my life will change somehow, but I'd like to know, even if it hurts the truth has to be better than nor knowing."

"Ah, always the truth with you, Gabrielle." Artemis replied. Then she turned to Hecuba. "She does have a lot of her father in her."

"Yes," Hecuba agreed. "The very best parts."

Artemis bent to the altar and picked up the ring that Hecuba placed there. She crossed to where Gabrielle and Xena stood and the warrior relinquished her hold on the small blonde. Lifting her hand, the Goddess slipped the thin circle of gold onto the ring finger of Gabrielle's right hand.

"Gabrielle, as long as you have this ring all you ever have to do to request your father's presence is speak his name." Artemis said and took a step back.

Gabrielle fingered the thin gold band and looked into the faces of each woman there. She watched the ring as she twirled it around her finger. Looking up she spoke the words,

"Father..."

It was slow; perhaps that was his natural shyness showing through. A form finally materialized to stand beside Artemis. Xena watched Gabrielle, knowing she wouldn't recognize the God, after all Xena had only seen him once herself. The warrior took in the light sandy hair, the compassionate green eyes, and as he smiled his nose seemed to crinkle in exactly the same way as Gabrielle's, and Xena knew this to be the truth. Why she had never stopped to think about it before was beyond her. It made so much sense, didn't it? Gabrielle, the young woman who was filled with the very light of goodness itself, whose talent as a bard was unequaled, and who believed in moderation in everything, these were exactly the virtues the daughter of Apollo would manifest.

Apollo was a quiet God; content to play his lyre and captain the chariot that brought the sun into the mortal realm's sky every day. He was a poet who was gifted in healing and prophecy and from him all of Greece came to say, Pan Metron Ariston, which means "everything in moderation." This would always explain Artemis' seemingly personal interest in her young Queen's well being. Being Apollo's twin sister, she was Gabrielle's aunt.

Yes, Xena thought to herself, there is definitely truth in this.

No one said a word as the God and the young Queen gazed at one another. Finally Xena moved to stand behind Gabrielle, placing both her hands on the small blonde's shoulders.

"Brie...this is Apollo...your father." Xena whispered to her lover.

Apollo took a step forward and raised a hesitant hand in Gabrielle's direction. Immediately the small blonde shifted away until her back was pressed tight against Xena's armor.

"It's okay, I'm right here, my heart...I won't let anything happen that you don't want to."

"I can't do this!" Gabrielle said, then the warrior watched in surprise as the young woman ran from the altar room.

"Uhm, let me go talk to her." Xena said, following her lover out the door.

Xena found her lover in the anteroom to the temple, sitting amongst stacks of scrolls and empty baskets. She was crying, but making a valiant effort to hold it back in.

"Brie, honey, are you okay?" Xena said, kneeling down in front of the young Queen.

"I thought it would be...I don't know, maybe one of the other men from her village...I just didn't think...It's okay, Xe, you don't have to marry me, I understand how you feel about them and with me you'd be marrying in to it and--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Xena said placing her fingers on Gabrielle's lips to quiet her. "You're making me dizzy, baby. Now, try and relax," Xena said wiping the tears from the woman's cheeks. "First of all, my heart, there are plenty of worse guys in the world that could be your father. I mean as Gods go Apollo's a pretty decent one. Hey, how'd you like to have my rumors...that Ares is your father, hmmm?"

Xena moved to sit by her lover, pulling the young woman into her lap and wrapping strong arms around the small blonde. She realized that her bard had suffered through a great deal lately, more than any woman her age should have had to. Today was just one more weight, added to the young woman's shoulders.

"Brie, if you think this or any other thing in this world, in any world for that fact, could make me give up taking you as my wife, you are sadly mistaken. Hey, I've worked too hard to get you to say yes," Xena said lifting the woman's chin until their eyes met, "I'm not going to let you slip away now."

Gabrielle looked into the deep pools of blue and felt the power of speech leave her. Never in all her life would she know why this strong warrior, who could have any lover in the known world, would choose her. She wrapped her arms tightly around Xena's neck and kissed her.

"Thanks, Xe...I needed to hear that."

"Do you feel like going back in there, just for a little longer?" Xena asked.

Gabrielle nodded her head and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat as she took her Warrior's hand and walked into the altar room again.

Gabrielle and Apollo walked through the temple garden as Xena watched from the temple window.

"Would you like to sit here?" Apollo indicated the rocks around a small pool of water.

Gabrielle nodded. "I love the sound of water, it's so...I don't know, relaxing, I guess."

Apollo waved his hand and small rivers of water began to cascade down the rocks and into the pool where they sat.

"Wow, I'd like to be able to do that." Gabrielle remarked.

"You probably could, you know, with a little instruction." The God responded.

"No thanks." Gabrielle chuckled. It was amazing how comfortable she felt with this God, completely unlike most of the other inhabitants of Mount Olympus she'd met. "You should have seen how many times I hit myself in the head trying to learn how to use my staff. I can't even imagine the damage I could do learning something like that. I'd probably start flash floods all over the countryside." Gabrielle finished, still laughing at herself.

Apollo leaned his head back and a round of genuine laughter came from deep in his chest. "Gabrielle, your wit has always been a constant source of pleasure for me."

Gabrielle smiled, then looked rather surprised. "Do you...do you watch me?"

Apollo's eyes turned a soft, sea-green color and his voice mellowed just slightly. "Gabrielle, there isn't a day that goes by when you're not in my thoughts and I can only let so much time go by before I have to take a look and see what you're up to."

"You haven't seen anything...embarrassing?" Gabrielle quickly thought to the times she and Xena, well, best not even think those thoughts, or...

"Are you humming?" Gabrielle couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from.

"Uh, yes, I am." Apollo uncharacteristically stammered. He quickly explained to Gabrielle's questioning look. "If I hum or sing, I can't read your thoughts." He finished and Gabrielle smiled because she thought she saw him blush.

"So, you've watched me?" The young Queen wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Sometimes...Sometimes I would have liked to knock you in the head, then sometimes I wanted to be able to give you a hug, and then there were times when I wished I could have told you that any father would be proud to have a daughter like you, Gabrielle."

The young woman suddenly felt herself choke on a sob as she tried to hold the rush of emotions back. Tears filled her eyes and Apollo moved quickly to put his arms around the small woman. Surprisingly, Gabrielle gave herself up to the embrace and allowed the God to hold her.

"I'm sorry, it's...well, I've wanted all my life for my father to say those words to me." She paused.

"Gabrielle," he whispered, kissing her temple, "he just did."

The two stayed like that for quite some time. Xena, satisfied that her bard was in safe hands, finally turned away from the window to allow the father and daughter their time together.