"We must get you back to the inn at once!" Nuktimos cried, still gripping his daughter tight.

She was wide eyed looking at her father trying hard to comprehend why she was sitting on the roadway and how she had gotten here. "What happened father?" She asked him.

"You've been sleep walking again, is all. We've got to get you back to the inn. Everything is going to be alright." He said.

But everything was not alright. A small gasp escaped her lips. She looked down and saw to her surprise that she was naked, and her body was covered in what appeared to be scratches, some deep and ragged with caked blood covering them. She puzzled this over in her mind and tried desperately to recall her last memory of the night before. She had been talking to that odd man. She had been very tired. She had lay down to sleep? "Father?" She looked up at him.

"Come on." He whispered quietly to her. But she would not move. He saw that she was now staring past him and he turned to follow her gaze.

"No." She whispered. She was staring at the jagged opened at the side of the large cage that was firmly entrenched in the ground. Her eyes followed a trail of disheveled dirt that started at the opening and ended at her feet. "It can't be." She gasped. She was shaking her head.

"Lucinda!" Nuktimos was grabbed her shoulders. "We've got to get.." He couldn't continue. She was looking into his eyes now and he could no longer hide from her piercing stare.

She saw into her father's eyes and confirmed her worst nightmares. The beast was not outside the inn walls, nameless and faceless. No. It was within, and it had a face, and it bore a name. And the beast was her. She began to crawl backwards and away from her father.

"Lucinda!" Nuktimos cried. He could do nothing to comfort her. She moved further away from him and he hung his head in shame.

"You knew father." She whispered. "You knew and still you let me..." She rose to her feet, shaking wildly from a flood of emotions that swept through her mind. She could no longer take the anguish of it and she fled the clearing running blindly as far away from her father and all the feelings that were welling up inside her.

***********

"I can't hear." She mumbled as Gabrielle shook her shoulders gently.

Gabrielle bend down and tried to make sense of the warrior's whisper. "What is it Xena?" She asked.

"Stop it." She groaned. "I can't hear it's breathing...it's coming...I need to hear..."

"What's coming?" Gabrielle asked. A small pang of hope had shot through her in the last few seconds. Xena was talking, or trying to, and this was a good sign. "Hello? What's coming? Talk to me Xena. " She coaxed.

"Gabrielle?" Xena whispered. She opened her eyes. A sharp pain shot through her head. She groaned. Her vision was blurred but was slowly focusing. She was lying on her stomach, her head turned towards the night stand. Then this vision was obstructed as a face came into view with familiar green eyes.

"Thank the gods!" Gabrielle smiled. "You can see me? Tell me what you can see."

"I can see you haven't slept much." Xena replied, trying to smile but it hurt to try.

"Well I can see you haven't lost your sense of humor." Gabrielle grinned at the warrior as relief spread over her heart. "How much does it hurt? She asked worriedly.

"Why?" Xena asked. "Will you kiss it and make it better?" She finally managed a small grin.

"That could be arranged." She smiled. Her warrior was back. Well somewhat at least.

"Help me up will you?" Xena asked. Not sure she really wanted to move but knew she would have to sooner or later before all her muscles stiffened into a tight knot and it would be agony then. She braced herself mentally because she knew this was going to hurt. She could already feel the throbbing on her back that warned her to leave it alone.

"Are you sure?" Gabrielle questioned her.

"No," Xena replied, "Now help me up."

Gabrielle lifted her shoulders gently and saw a streak of pain shoot across the warrior's features. But she didn't complain. She turned her over and helped her into a sitting position. Xena closed her eyes and Gabrielle felt her tremble slightly in her hands. She watched as the warrior breathed out slowly and opened her eyes again and then quickly closed them. She saw pain there and a few small tears slipped down the warrior's cheeks. Gabrielle gently kissed her on the forehead and began to stroke her hair. She wanted to squeeze her tight but she wouldn't dare touch her back. Instead she pulled Xena's head into her shoulder and let her rest in the comfort of her skin.

Xena was dizzy and felt mildly sick and welcomed the soft support of Gabrielle's shoulder. She let her head rest there for some time. She felt Gabrielle take her hand in hers and squeeze it tight. The bard's touch was so loving that it moved her heart even through the searing pain. She could have stayed like this for hours but her stomach had other ideas. "I'm going to throw up." Xena stated.

Gabrielle stiffened. "Right now?" She asked tentatively.

"Now." She warned.

"Hades!" Gabrielle cried and scrambled to get something fast.

************

She reached the inn and burst through the door. She was standing naked in the middle of twenty or so patrons who were slumped in various positions of repose. No one woke. Too many mugs of ale and too much tension had left them spent and soundly sleeping in their respective dreamscapes. She was shaking wildly and a cold had wrapped around her like ice fingers. She had nowhere to go to escape herself. She ran towards the passage, tears streaming down her face.

************

"My boot." Xena gasped. She was slowly regaining her breath.

"Um, sorry Xena. " Gabrielle replied quietly. "It was the closest thing..."

"My boot." She repeated incredulously. "My only boots." She added.

"Look," Gabrielle said, "You should have warned me sooner...you can get new ones...we'll..."

"Well this is another first." She sighed shaking her head and had to chuckle. "My boot..." She repeated. "I notice you didn't grab yours." She said gazing down at the floor where it lay.

"Hey, now wait just a minute..." Gabrielle's defense was interrupted by a loud pounding on the door.

Her eyes widened. "Don't move." Gabrielle warned Xena. She saw Xena rolled her eyes in response. She got up and went to the door. "Who's there?" She asked tentatively.

"Please...." A trembling voice answered.

Gabrielle recognized it to be Lucinda's voice and opened the door. She was staring at Lucinda, naked, and covered in cuts and bruises. Her jaw dropped in shock as she tried to make comprehensible sense of the vision before her eyes. Lucinda burst into a fresh wave of sobs and fell into her arms. Gabrielle looked over at Xena with wide eyes that were only slightly wider than the warrior's.

She led Lucinda to the chair and sat her down. The woman was in shock from something. She grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it round her shaking form. She would worry about the cuts later. For now she needed to calm her down. Lucinda sobs were subsiding and she made small gasping noises as she sat there in silence, rocking back and forth. She was staring into space and mumbling to herself incoherently.

"Talk to her Gabrielle." Xena instructed from the bed.

Gabrielle knelt in front of Lucinda and tried to get her attention. "Lucinda." She spoke softly. "What happened? Tell me." She coaxed. Nothing. She reached up to stroke her hair but Lucinda pulled away wildly.

"Don't touch me!" She cried. "Stay away. Don't come near me! Don't..please..."

Gabrielle stepped back to try and appease the woman. "It's alright Lucinda. I won't hurt you. It's Gabrielle. I'm your friend and your safe now." She watched as Lucinda was shaking her head from side to side.

"Not safe...not safe..." She cried, tears streaming down her face as a new wave of sobs wracked her body. "It's me...it's me...it's me.." She repeated.

"Yes I know it's you Lucinda....you're alright....you're going to be just fine...." Gabrielle spoke soothingly to her. She turned to Xena. "I don't know what she's saying." Then she looked into Xena's eyes and saw shock and something more, a realization.

"It's Lucinda. " Xena said as her heart sunk in her chest. "She's the beast."

***********

Nuktimos burst into the inn after his daughter. He looked around wildly for any signs of her. He ran behind the bar and removed the small hidden dagger from it's protective cloth and then headed down the passage to where he knew she must be.

He burst through door to Gabrielle and Xena's room without knocking. Gabrielle had little time to look up before he ran over and pushed her aside. He positioned himself between his daughter and them, holding out his dagger as a warning. His hand was shaking wildly. ."Don't kill her!" He cried, his breath coming in gasps.

"Calm down." Xena said evenly trying not to upset the man further. She cursed her inability to move at the moment. "No one's going to kill anyone. Now just put the dagger down and we can talk about this." He was not calming. "Please. As you can see, I'm hardly a threat at the moment." She stated.

Nuktimos eyed Xena warily. She was propped up on the bed with one arm, the other holding a sheet to cover her nakedness, a bandage wrapped around her head, her face deadly pale and their were dark circles under eyes that showed compassion mixed with a tired weariness. He believed her. He relaxed slightly, then he felt the gentle touch of his daughter's hand on his back and the fight went out of him. The dagger fell from his hand and he sunk down to the floor. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for anyone to get hurt....I never meant...." He covered his face with his hands and wept quietly.

Gabrielle was frozen on the ground as she let the events of the last few moments sink in. She slowly looked up at Lucinda and her heart broke for her. She saw a terrible sorrow there and wanted to comfort her but she dared not move in fear of setting off Nuktimos again. She watched as Lucinda stroked her father's head trying to still his anguished heart.

Xena was eyeing the dagger that Nuktimos had dropped on the floor. It was silver. She pondered this.

No one spoke for the longest time. Finally it was Lucinda that broke the silence. She looked over at Xena with a terrible sadness. "You must kill me." She stated. "And you must do it before the moon rises."

Her father jerked up to his feet. "No!" He cried. He wrapped his arms around his daughter tightly. "No...please...don't.."

"Nobody's going to kill anyone. "Xena warned. "Is that clear?" She asked the room. She looked Nuktimos in the eyes. "Now why don't you tell us the truth. There is no time to lose. And I'm too tired to put the pinch on you." No information was forth coming. She sighed. "Let's start with that nice silver dagger on the floor shall we? Please Nuktimos."

Finally he spoke. He stared out the window. He could not face the eyes of anyone right now, especially his daughter. "It's been handed down to the first born son for many generations in my family." He sighed. "It was given to me by my father as it was handed down to him. I never paid much attention to the legend of it. I always thought it just old superstition but I promised to keep it and hand it down to my son as it was handed to me." He explained. He took a long breath and continued. "But then my wife died, and I never had a son, there was only Lucinda and I never thought much about it since really. That is until the curse came to our village just a few full moons ago."

"Where did the dagger come from?" Gabrielle asked. She was fascinated now despite the situation and silently chided herself.

"It is said to be the dagger of King Lycaon. He used it to sacrifice his son on the altar. The legend has it that Zeus, so enraged with this spilling of innocent blood, turned him into a wolf, banishing him to roam the land for a period of nine years. If he did not taste of human flesh he would be returned to his human form. As further punishment, Zeus threw lightening bolts down upon his other sons, he spared only his youngest. He was to take the dagger and keep it as a reminder of his father's evils and the curse laid upon our family. His name was Nuktimos. And I am of his blood line." He explained.

"And silver is the only metal that can kill the beast." Xena said more to herself than to anyone in the room. "Sorry." She said, suddenly thinking of Lucinda.

Lucinda listened to this with growing dread. "You must kill me Xena and end the cycle." She cried.

"No Lucinda!" Gabrielle cried. "We can go the temple. Maybe we can pray to Zeus to lift the curse. There must be something we can do. The gods can be swayed. Just ask Xena." She said. "Isn't that right Xena? Xena?" She looked over at her with pleading eyes.

"Gabrielle is right." Xena said.

"I am?" Gabrielle said with mild surprise. "I am." She said with more conviction.

"No, we can't take a chance." Lucinda said. "The moon is at it's fullest tonight. I can't, no I won't allow you to risk your lives for me. There's no guarantee he would even listen, or could be summoned in time. It's too late. And I've already done terrible things..." Her voice trailed to a whisper. She looked over at Xena. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Lucinda. You didn't know what you were doing. This is not your fault. You have to belief that." She said. "But you're right, there is not enough time."

"Xena!" Gabrielle cried. "You can't kill Lucinda!!!"

Nuktimos grabbed his daughter tightly. "You can't think that...."

Xena shook her head. "No, I'm not going to kill Lucinda. Is everybody clear on that?" She growled. Hades her head hurt. She sighed. This was draining her far faster than she had hoped. "We have one night left. It's simple. We put Lucinda in the cage and watch over her until sunrise. Then we go to the mountain and I'll handle Zeus." She said.

"There's a problem." Lucinda said. "I've already broken out of the cage."

"Oh." Xena said.

There was a pregnant pause.

Finally Xena spoke again. "Okay. It was my mistake. I just wasn't well enough prepared and I didn't bank on the strength of you. That much is obvious." She said through clenched teeth as another wave of pain swept over her. She struggled to retrace last night's events but she couldn't remember past fighting with Salmoneus about the silverware, correction, fake silverware. Her thoughts returned to the present situation. "We'll reinforce it with steel. Nuktimos, how much metal can you get your hands on in the next few hours?" She asked.

"As much as I have to." Nuktimos replied, jumping up with a new sense of purpose.

"Good. Have you got a barn we could use? Something far away from the other buildings?" She asked.

"Yes, we can use Solston's barn. He won't mind." He replied excitedly.

"Good. Get the village men to bring the cage there. I want you to reinforce the entire structure with metal. We haven't much time. I want everything in place well before sunset. And this time we'll be ready." She stated. She sounded sure of herself but something nagged at her from the far corners of her mind. She fought to grasp at it but each time she tried to pull it towards her it would slip away into darkness. She sighed. She needed rest. More than one day would afford her. "Gabrielle." She said finally. "Clean Lucinda's wounds for her. I'm just going to lie here for a little bit." She said quietly through closed eyes as the last words became too much of an effort. She gingerly laid herself down on the bed and fell immediately into a deep sleep.

Chapter 17

---------------

"I'm so sorry Gabrielle." Lucinda whispered. She was seated on the chair beside the hearth, wrapped in a blanket while Gabrielle sat beside her tending to her cuts. "I'm just so..sorry."

"Lucinda, stop apologizing. None of this is any of your fault." Gabrielle said soothingly trying to calm the distraught woman. Her heart went out to the young girl with the sad green eyes, tear streaked and sorrowful. Gabrielle tried to remain cheerful. "Look, tomorrow we go to Zeus's temple. Xena will fix everything, she always does. Soon this will be just a bad memory."

"I killed people Gabrielle. I tore them to pieces with my own hands." Lucinda gasped quietly, careful not to raise her voice in case it might disturb the warrior that lay sleeping on the bed.

"I know." Gabrielle replied. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had unknowingly killed someone. Could she live with herself? Surely not if she had killed with the knowledge of doing so, but if she hadn't known... but even then. "I don't know what to say that will comfort you, Lucinda." The bard sighed. "I have always lived with the belief that I couldn't kill anyone. But when Perdicus died I thought I could, but in the end I couldn't. But that was a conscious decision, yours wasn't."

"Who's Perdicus?" Lucinda asked, "Family?"

"No actually, he was my husband." Gabrielle replied.

"Husband?" Lucinda said with surprise. "You were married?"

"Only for a day. Callisto killed him. She wanted to destroy Xena's soul and so she killed Perdicus to turn me into a killer to avenge his death." She explained.

"Killed Perdicus to destroy Xena's soul." Lucinda repeated in hopes of making sense of it. She gave up. "I'm confused."

"So was I." Gabrielle replied quietly, "But I'm not anymore." Gabrielle turned to look at the sleeping warrior on the bed and sighed. She turned back to Lucinda, shaking her head. "You know it's funny."

"What?" Asked Lucinda.

"When your worst enemy knows you better than yourself." Gabrielle sighed.

"What if your worst enemy is inside you?" Lucinda asked.

"Inside you?" Gabrielle said. "Oh Lucinda, I'm sorry. I've been thinking about myself and I totally forgot about....sorry."

"That's alright." Lucinda sighed. "At least your worst enemy is something tangible, something you can strike out at."

"Actually Lucinda, I think sometimes we're all our own worst enemies. " Gabrielle sighed. "I never should have married Perdicus. I should have followed my heart and not my head. But if only Xena had said something...anything...but she just gave me her blessings. By the gods, she's infuriating!" Gabrielle cried.

"Infuriating how?" Lucinda asked.

"You know I love her so much I can't think straight sometimes but half the time I just want to kill her, she's so maddening." Gabrielle cried, shaking her fist in the air. "She's always erecting that dumb warrior wall anytime you get too close to her true heart. She won't let you inside, you have to practically smack her around to get her to talk about her feelings. It's so hard to communicate that way." Gabrielle sighed. "Of course, I'm no better. You'd think I would be seeing as I'm a bard and supposed to be good with words."

"The heart's words are never easy to speak." Lucinda sighed.

"That's true Lucinda." Gabrielle said looking into the woman's sad green eyes. "But it's our hearts that make us who we are, and I know your heart Lucinda, it's a good one, no matter what's happened. I can see that it's pure, just like Xena's heart, despite what she thinks. You have to believe that."

"I wish I could Gabrielle." Lucinda said quietly. "I wish I could."

Xena lay on the bed with her eyes closed listening to the two women speak, silently chiding herself for lurking in on what should have been a private conversation. But she had little choice as her head was pulsing painfully enough to have pulled her out of a deep sleep. She sighed inwardly. Why hadn't she spoke up when Gabrielle married Perdicus? She should have. She had desperately wanted to but she had wanted Gabrielle to be happy, but she knew now she had been wrong not to act. And it had gotten Perdicus killed and had nearly destroyed both the bard and herself. Listening to Gabrielle talk to a stranger for less than two minutes was giving her greater insights than travelling with her for two years. Dumb warrior wall...did she say dumb... ? She decided then and there she would make a concerted effort to communicate her feelings better. "Gabrielle?" She whispered.

Lucinda and Gabrielle froze. Gabrielle swallowed. "Xena! You're awake!" Gabrielle looked at Lucinda with slight horror. By the gods, how long has she been listening....gods, gods, gods.

"Gabrielle? Where are your boots?" Xena asked.

Hades, Hades, Hades, she's been listening all this time....Gabrielle cried inwardly. "What? Oh, they're over on the ground beside the bed right where yours...HEY!!" Gabrielle jumped up with sudden realization. "WAIT! XENA?! DON'T YOU DARE! XENA!!!!!"

***********

"So why all the secrecy Nutkimos?" Solston asked. He was seated on a bale of hay in his barn, his wineskin now permanently attached to his hand. He took another drink as he watched the men place steel bars on the outside of the cage as reinforcements. Nuktimos was watching as well.

"By orders of the warrior woman." Nuktimos said flatly.

"Well," Solston said, "Now she's ordering us around...isn't that nice!"

"Shut up Solston!" Nuktimos cried.

"Hey!" Solston flinched visibly. "What's with you?"

Nuktimos whirled around and grabbed Solston by the scruff of his neck. His eyes were slit with anger. "What's it to you?!?!"

All the men stopped work on the cage and turned to look at the confrontation unfolding out of nowhere in front of their eyes. No one moved.

Solston gulped and dropped his wineskin, Nuktimos gripping his shirt hard. He was afraid he might be getting a fistful next. "Ssssorry Nuktimos...I didn't mean to...sorry Nuktimos..."

Nuktimos wanted to kill him right then and there, his rage was so great. He looked down at the quivering man that despite all, was still his friend. He let go of his shirt and backed away. Solston wasn't the reason a rage burned through him, it was himself he loathed at the moment. He eyed Solston as he staggered, stopping to pick up his wineskin, and headed to the far corner of the barn and away from Nuktimo's burning eyes.

With the threat of a fight gone the men returned to their work on the cage. They were reinforcing it so well not Zeus himself could break free of it. No one wanted to think very hard about what might be going in there tonight, sometimes it was just better not to know. They only knew one thing, and that was that they would plan to be as far away from this barn tonight as humanly possible.

*************

"Hey," Gabrielle whispered to Xena. The warrior was lying there, eyes closed now for the last half hour. Gabrielle had placed a cool cloth on her forehead and was stroking her hair to soothe her. "How about we try more white powder. It'll take away the pain, won't it."

The warrior shook her head. "Too much already...can't take anymore." She whispered a reply. She silently doubted it would matter very much at the moment, even if she'd downed the entire pouch. The only comfort she had found was the gentle touch of the bard's hands. That would have to be enough.

Gabrielle looked down at Xena, her heart going out to her. She would have traded places with her if she could have. "How about some water?" She saw Xena shake her head and grimace. Gabrielle sighed. "Xena, you have to drink something. Tea? Broth? Port?"

"Yeah, port, very funny." Xena replied flatly. The bard was right of course. She was dehydrated and needed to replenish her fluid loss if she was to be of any use tonight. She would have to guard the cage no matter what condition she was in. Things were not going according to plan, oh no, not even close. Her stomach slid around like a snake keeping time to the drum beat in her head as she contemplated what she might be able to drink. She rolled the dice, it came up snake eyes. "Tea." She said.

Gabrielle looked down at her and smiled. "Tea it is for my lovely lady. A fine choice I might add."

Xena opened her eyes a crack. "And I want it served with only the finest silverware."

"But of course, oh great warrior princess." Gabrielle's head bowed as she gestured with her arm.

Xena finely opened her eyes all the way cracked a smile. Then she looked around the room. "Where's Lucinda?" She asked.

"Oh, she went to lie down." Gabrielle replied, suddenly feeling a worry spread over her. "Why?"

Xena tried to sit up and failed. She gripped the bard's arm. "You shouldn't leave her out of your sight Gabrielle!"

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked but feared she already knew. "You don't think she'd...."

"Find her!" Xena cried.

"Okay!" Gabrielle rose quickly from the bed. "Stay here! I'll be right back!"

The warrior would have rolled her eyes but it hurt too much she had discovered earlier. She hated feeling this useless. She could only pray she was over reacting and Lucinda was sleeping peaceful, unlike herself at the moment. She lay there silently cursing herself for having been stupid enough to get hurt. How had she gotten hurt anyway? This had been nagging at her all morning. She was seeing bits and pieces of the confrontation now as it was slowly coming back to her. She had been standing by the tree, she remembered that much. She had sensed it coming......Hades, she couldn't remember past that. Her thoughts went back to Lucinda again and the silver dagger.

***************

"What are you looking for?" Salmoneus asked Lucinda, who was rummaging around behind the counter.

She whirled around at the sound of his voice.

"Salmoneus!" She cried. "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

"That's a very good question." Salmoneus replied. "But since I'm stuck here I was hoping you were going to be serving more of those special biscuits I've come to cherish."

"Oh, right...sorry. I've been busy trying to find..." She was interrupted as Gabrielle entered from the passage.

"Find what Lucinda?" Gabrielle asked.

Lucinda looked up and Salmoneus turned to her as well. "Crackers." Lucinda replied.

"Crackers?" Salmoneus said with mild surprise. "You mean biscuits don't you?"

Gabrielle came over to the bar and looked Lucinda in the eyes. She stood nearly chest to chest in a subtle battle stance. "What kind of cracker Lucinda? A silver one?"

"Maybe." Lucinda replied leaning into the bard and accepting the challenge.

"Crackers." Salmoneus repeated. "Biscuits, crackers. Hmmm. Much snappier, Cracker!" He repeated with enthusiasm.

"Look it," The bard warned. "You're not going to solve anything by using that 'cracker' on yourself."

"Ritzy Crackers." Salmoneus said aloud. "No wait, not quite there..."

"I think it would solve a lot of things!" Lucinda replied.

"It will solve nothing. So don't even think about it." Gabrielle warned. She was trying Xena's lines now in the hopes they would sound more impressive.

"Ritz Crackers. Hmmm. Ritz Crackers...now that could work." Salmoneus said.

"I will tie you up if I have to." Gabrielle warned. She was trying hard to sound mean but it wasn't working. She was only distancing herself from Lucinda even more. How did Xena do this? She switched tactics. "Lucinda, please, I couldn't live with myself if I let you do such a thing. You mustn't give up hope!" She cried.

Lucinda was starting to cry. "I don't know, I, just..."

Gabrielle burst into tears and wrapped her arms around Lucinda.

"Well the name's not that bad Gabrielle." Salmoneus cried.

"Don't cry Gabrielle," Lucinda said as she hugged the bard. "Please don't cry. I promise not to do anything rash, please..."

Gabrielle sobbing subsided and she looked at Lucinda. "Promise me?" She asked.

Lucinda nodded.

"Well what do you think?" Salmoneus asked.

Both women turned to him and spoke. "About what?"

"About the crackers. Ritz Crackers!" Salmoneus replied in frustration. "Is nobody listening to me?!!"

"It'll never work." They spoke together, then turned to each other, and burst into laughter through their tears. Gabrielle smiled at Lucinda and squeezed her tight in an unspoken exchange of friendship. Lucinda returned her squeeze and they stayed like that for some time.

Salmoneus got up from his stool and scurried out the door, "Short sighted common.... oh, I don't know why I bother. Ritz Crackers....hmmm...sounds good to me, oh well," He sighed.

*************

Xena awoke with a start, her eyes snapping open. Her body jumped only slightly at the sight of Gabrielle's sleeping form lying on top of her. She was staring into the face of one snoring bard. She breathed out slowly as her heart began to calm. She chuckled to herself silently as she listened to the deep breathing of her lover on her chest. She shifted slightly allowing release of her captured arms and wrapped then tightly around Gabrielle. She must be exhausted, Xena thought, so in fact was she. She gazed out the window and noted with mild regret that the sun was low in the sky and it was time to get moving. There was no way she could afford to be unprepared tonight, Lucinda's life and her own depended on it. She carefully rolled Gabrielle over so as not to wake her and sat up. Whoa, too fast. Her world went black for a few seconds and she swayed slightly but eventually her vision returned and she breathed deeply. Oh yeah, she thought, this is going to be a long night. The throbbing pain in her back was not as bad as before but her head was still a formidable opponent at the moment. She braced herself and put her feet on the ground and prepared for the big one, the standing position. "Drum roll please," she spoke to no one in particular. She took a deep breath and slowly began to rise as if it was her first time. She was there, yes, steady, we're ok. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to help dissipate the black and sparkling vision that clouded her eyes and opened them again tentatively. Alright, we're there. Xena finally cracked a smile at this small victory and took her first step. She immediately crumpled to the floor making a loud thud as she landed. "Hades!"

Gabrielle shot awake from the sound and looked around wildly. Where was Xena? She was gone! She was out there somewhere, where was she? By the gods, she might be....Gabrielle looked over the edge of the bed. "Xena? What are you doing down there?" She asked.

"I've lost an earring, what does it look like I'm doing!" She growled.

Gabrielle quickly got out of the bed to help Xena. "Serves you right for not asking for my help!" Gabrielle scolded.

"I've long since given up on trying to wake you." Xena retorted as Gabrielle grabbed her and helped her to her feet.

Gabrielle held her around the waist in a tight embrace. "You mean you're just too proud to ask for my help." She replied.

The bard was right, of course, which further irritated the warrior. But there was no time for selfish pride tonight. She sighed. "Alright, I need your help to get dressed."

Gabrielle couldn't believe her ears as she knew it took a lot for Xena to admit such a thing. "I would be honored." She bowed slightly. "I've taken your clothes off before, but I've never got to put them back on. This might be fun."

"Gabrielle." Xena warned.

"Alright." Gabrielle sighed. "Let's sit you down and get started." Trying to contain her excitement at being allowed this small ritual. "You know I haven't dressed anyone, not since my doll really, back in Potedia, she was so cute, I had three outfits for her, one was pink..."

"Gabrielle!" Xena growled her final warning.

"Course one was leather, you know, for battle type things. She had a sword as well. "Gabrielle lied.

"Really, what was her name?" Xena asked with mild interest as she raised her arms to allow Gabrielle to slip her leather tunic over her head.

"Xena of course!" Gabrielle replied.

"Liar." Xena stated.

"Actually it was Princess Gabrielle and she never owned a sword." She admitted.

Xena's eyebrow raised slightly. "Well you certainly can't be blamed for not thinking ahead."

Gabrielle got that far away look in her eyes. "Yeah, I always new I'd be something more than a farm girl from Potedia. That's how I knew when you saved our village that I had to follow you. I probably fell in love at the first sight of you downing those men with nothing more than a shift on and no weapons. You looked so confident, proud, beautiful...."

"Gabrielle, the breast plate." Xena said.

"Huh, oh yeah," Gabrielle came back to the moment looking down at her beautiful lover. "And stubborn, ornary, feisty, demanding.."

"Hey!" Xena cried.

"And the most beautiful heart.." Gabrielle finished and bent down kissing the warrior on the lips before she could protest further.

Xena returned the kiss with a gentle one of her own, and then she hugged the bard. A darkness had fallen over her heart in the last few moments as she saw the sun dip down over the horizon and she was getting that bad feeling again, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Hey," Gabrielle pulled away to look at the warrior's eyes. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Xena replied, "Just come here." She said as she pulled the bard tight to her chest again.

"Just getting my last hug in before I go out there."

"Don't worry, I'm coming with you." Gabrielle replied.

Xena tensed. "No you're not."

"Xena, I'm coming so don't even bother, besides Lucinda needs me." Gabrielle said looking into Xena's eyes. "And you need me too. You can barely walk, and this discussion is over."

Xena was speechless. And she knew what Gabrielle said was true, and it would be safe, after all, they just had to watch the cage, how hard could that be? Really. But why then did her gut tell her otherwise. Perhaps this new closeness between them was clouding her judgment. Or perhaps it was heightening it. Either way she had little choice in the matter. Lucinda's only friend was here, and she would need one tonight. "Help me up then, and we'll need Argo to get me to the barn."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement and helped the warrior stand. Then she looked down at Xena's feet. "Oh, we forgot your boots."

"Forget the boots." Xena said. "We're going barefoot tonight."

They smiled at each other and headed out the door, arm in arm, and out into the darkness of the night to face whatever evil lay out there together.

Chapter 19

--------------

Pain pulsed through his feverish body as tiny traces of silver worked there way through his blood stream creating tiny tears in the lining of his veins. He lay in the dew of the evening grass, his knees tucked into his body and his arms wrapped tightly around them in an attempt to stop the maddening shivering that had assaulted him ever since he had awoke just a few hours ago. His mind raced with broken images of forest trees, wooden cages, tearing claws and a sword penetrating deep into his heart over and over again, that and the vision of a woman. He tried desperately to hold the image of her in his mind each time it passed but it was wildly racing and he could not slow it's harried speed. A madness had swept away all rational thought as his delirious mind played it's own feverish games. He was but a prisoner of it's musing now, the man once known as Keltore long since buried deep within the recesses of it's mind. He no longer knew who he was or why he suffered such great pain. He smelled the blood that soaked his naked form and knew on some instinctual level that he was slowly dying, Through all this only one flame burnt brightly deep within his soul, and he rejoiced each time her vision swept across his mind's eye. He knew only one word. He rocked back and forth silently in the tall grass as he chanted her name, "Xena...Xena...Xena...", and waited for the moon to take him once again. He lived for only one thing now, to taste of her blood on his lips. Only then could the flame that burned deep inside him go out and allow his final release.

*******

The last traces of sunlight slipped quietly from the fields as they rode together towards Solston's farm. The moon shone down on the riders as a cool luminescent blue slowly replaced the colour of the day.

No words were spoken as each woman's thoughts were of the night ahead and what their eyes might lay witness too. Gabrielle sat in front, holding the reins of Argo as Xena held onto her, resting her head on Gabrielle' s shoulder. She was weaker than she had hoped she would be and the ride was making her dizzy once again. She shut her eyes and tightened her grip on Gabrielle.

They crested a hill and Gabrielle caught her first glimpse of the barn. It was nestled in a tiny valley of it's own. Gabrielle noticed the sheep pen that Solston had spoke of in his story and her eyes travelled to his house and the porch where he had sat waiting for the beast. She was reminded once again of his dog and a sadness crept over her heart. But her concern for her companion was greater. "We're almost there Xena, you ok?" She felt Xena nod her head on her shoulder in an affirmative gesture but she doubted if this was true.

A quiet calm had descended on the valley and only the sound of Argo's hooves on the ground broke the night air. As they neared the barn Gabrielle could see the glow of the torches coming through the loft window and the barn doors. Nuktimos and Lucinda would be waiting for them. As they entered through the barn door Argo pulled back slightly on the reigns, as if sensing the unnaturalness there, but Gabrielle soothed her and she relented and continued inside.

Nuktimos came to greet them at the entrance. He helped Gabrielle lower Xena from Argo and led her over to the softness of the hay and sat her down gently leaning her back against the barn wall. Gabrielle dismounted and led Argo over to a corner as far away from the cage as possible. Gabrielle then went immediately to Lucinda, who sat silently behind the bars. She had chosen a corner and sat there, her knees tucked up, her arms wrapped tightly around them, her sad eyes watching Gabrielle.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Gabrielle asked softly, as she sat down beside her, the steel barrier between them. She reached through the bar and gently stroked Lucinda's auburn hair, to try to reassure her, though she felt little of this herself.

"How's Xena." Lucinda asked. She couldn't look at Gabrielle, instead she stared at Xena, who looked very pale sitting there, her eyes still closed. Her father was talking with her.

"She'll be fine, Lucinda, she just needs rest." Gabrielle reassured her, "How are you?"

Lucinda looked over finally at Gabrielle, her eyes burning with a great sorrow, "I'm fine."

"Just one more night Lucinda, and everything will be ok...you have to believe that." She tried to remain positive but her heart was heavy and it betrayed her voice. Gabrielle had to look away before she starting crying. She saw Nuktimos kneeling beside Xena. He looked pale and distraught. Her eyes travelled to the silver dagger on his belt. Her heart went out to Lucinda's father, but there was little she could do to console him.

"You mentioned this to no one?" Xena asked Nuktimos through closed eyes.

"Only Salmoneus knows. He offered to run the inn for me. Something about a theme night, can't recall exactly." He was looking down, worriedly at the warrior who looked very pale and in visible pain.

"You brought the dagger." Xena asked, finally prying her eyes open.

"I did." Nuktimos sighed.

She gazed at the dagger on his belt. "I should take that Nuktimos." She said.

"No!" Nuktimos said quickly. "You're in no condition. I'll hold it."

"And you're in no condition to use it." Xena replied.

"I will do what I have to do if it should come to that." Nuktimos replied quietly.

She eyed him warily, but then a fresh wave of pain tore through her head, and she had to close her eyes. She would have to trust him.

Gabrielle looked over to see Nuktimos leave Xena's side and walk to the middle of the barn, unsure of what to do with himself. She turned to Lucinda. "I better get Xena some water. You'll be ok?" She asked.

Lucinda nodded. "I'll be fine. You go on." They looked at each other and tears began to well in each other's eyes.

Gabrielle squeezed Lucinda's hand and got up and went over to Argo grabbing her staff and a waterskin. She brought it over to Xena and sat down beside her. She held the waterskin to Xena's lips and the warrior gratefully drank from it.

Xena opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was seated opposite the great cage and she noted with some satisfaction the men had done a fine job of reinforcing it with steal bars. Part of the rope still hung from the rafter where Nuktimos, she surmised, would have had to cut it to lower the cage onto his daughter. She was sure this had not been easy for the man and she glanced over at him, their eyes meeting, and saw a great pain there. She looked at the silver dagger on his belt once again. She worried that he would not be able to use it but judging from the steel of the cage this was a mute point. Her eyes travelled up to the loft to her right and a small part of her mind remembered it. She had never been here before, but an unsettling feeling had crept over her at the sight of it. She stared at it intently, she could only see the opening of it, small bales of hay piled near it's edge. She pushed her mind to search for the vision of it but only ended up increasing the pounding in her head. She sighed and gave up, closing her eyes again in the hopes that the pain would subside some.

Gabrielle noted with concern that Xena was not looking good. She got up and went to the saddle bags to retrieve more white powder. She paused at the barn doors to look at the moon as it made it's slow ascent into the night sky. She wondered how long it would be before Lucinda would change. She shuttered to herself as she was in fear of what she would see, and more afraid for Lucinda and what she would become. She came over to Nuktimos on her way back. "Why don't you go and sit with Lucinda, she needs you now more than ever." She whispered to him. He was still standing unsure of what to do next.

"I can't face her." He whispered, tears in his eyes.

"You must go to her, your love for her is all she has now." Gabrielle begged.

He nodded. He went over to the cage and sat down beside his daughter. He could not look at her, his shame so great. Then he felt her hand grasp his own through the bars and he turned to her and saw only love. Tears flowed down his face matching Lucinda's own, and they quietly wept, each for the other's pain.

She returned to sit beside the warrior. She took a small pinch of the powder and placed it between Xena's lips. It was accepted without hesitation, which only fueled her worry even more. She kissed her gently on the cheek and cuddled into her to give her comfort, but it was more for herself than anything as she was beginning to feel the first real pangs of nervousness. She hadn't really thought much about the wait, but now it was all she had. It was painfully slow, yet she dreaded it's end.

**********

Xena awoke to the sounds of snoring, that and the whinny of her horse, Argo. She cracked her eyes open to see the bard draped over her once again. This was becoming a familiar pattern, she thought to herself. And she liked it very much, though she could do without the snoring. She gazed over at the cage at Nuktimos and Lucinda, who were also sleeping and wondered what time it was. She couldn't see outside but she guessed a few hours had passed. She was terribly thirsty once again and reached for the waterskin and took a long drink from it. Gabrielle stirred in her sleep but then slipped back into her dreamscape and continued her snoring which echoed loudly in Xena's head. Her eyes travelled over to the cage and Lucinda. She noticed that the woman was stirring ever so slightly as if dreaming. Xena wondered, silently, what her dreams might be. Then her eyes travelled to the loft again, and she began to work around the puzzle of it's familiarity.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Lucinda's cry pierced the night air.

Xena's eyes shot over to the cage as Gabrielle jerked awake and inadvertently smacked Xena over the head with her arm sending a fresh wave of pain through her. She didn't even flinch as she was too fixated on Lucinda and what was transpiring before her eyes. Lucinda stood up in the center of the cage and began clutching her chest, a great fever had covered her and her clothes were soaked with sweat. Nutkimos had awoken and was reaching through the bars to try and comfort her.

"Get away from me father!!!" Lucinda screamed at him. "Please get away!"

"Get back Nuktimos!" Xena cried from her seated position. She felt Gabrielle go to get up but she grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Don't move!" She growled. She sighed with some relief as she saw Nuktimos wisely step back from the cage.

All eyes were on Lucinda now.

She looked around wildly through the cage bars. She was on fire as wave after wave of heat spread through her body. She could no longer stand the touch of her clothes on her skin. She tore off her dress as another wave of heat covered her. It was followed by a deep searing pain that started at her center and tore through her entire body. She fell to her knees clutching herself tightly and tried not to scream. She felt the first terrible pull along her spine as it began to stretch and reshape itself into something new. She was wild with panic and in terrible agony, she shook violently with each popping of her vertebrae as they raised up one by one along her back.

Xena's eyes were fully open, for perhaps the first time in over a day as she watched the transformation unfold before her. Gabrielle's hand was digging so hard into her arm it was drawing blood. One hand instinctively hovered over her chakrum and she silently cursed herself for not demanding she hold the dagger. Nuktimos was paralyzed, down on his knees as he watched his daughter change into the beast.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Lucinda could no longer contain herself as another wave of pain spread through her arms. She fell to the ground and watched with horror as her hands began to stretch, the sound of cracking bones resonating loudly in her ears. Part of her was mesmerized at the sight of huge flesh tearing claws emerge from what was her fingernails. Her skin was alive now, as her pores began to sprout dark thick hair, swirling madly across her form, the pink of her skin beginning to fade beneath the thick growth. Her head began to shake involuntarily and she felt a terrible pull once again as her face began to push outwards, stretching and distorting to reshape itself into to it's beastly form.

Gabrielle was frozen in horror. She clutched Xena tightly and her freed hand instinctually clutched her staff. Lucinda was in terrible pain, of this she was sure, but she was mesmerized by what she was becoming. Dark hair had covering her naked form almost completely now as what once was Lucinda slowly disappeared into the beast. Her eyes widened even further as she saw what could only be the beginning of a snout pushing it's way out of Lucinda's face, violently, and with no mercy. She saw Lucinda look up towards her and their eyes locked onto each other. Her green eyes showed a small hint of recognition but then they coloured over to a deep burning red. Gabrielle she saw the last of Lucinda slip away, her eyes were replaced with a raging flame of what could have only been madness. Tears began to spill from Gabrielle as she watched her friend be taken from them to somewhere she could not even begin to comprehend. She could no longer look and buried her head into Xena's shoulder.

Xena felt Gabrielle sink into her for solace but she could not tear her eyes away from the cage. She wrapped her arms around the bard to comfort her but continued to watch with a sick fascination at what was being born before her. In the dark of the clearing last night the beast had not seemed as large as it did now under the lights of the torches. She heard Argo whinny again but she knew the mare would not leave her, though all her instincts raged against this. What once had been Lucinda's legs had stretched and reformed to become powerful hindlegs, with thick full rippling shanks that only began to tell the story of how powerful the beast was. Her arms were now completely replaced with an odd cross between a wolf and something darker, the claws hands were much larger than a normal wolf and much deadlier in their construction. The hand span must have stretched near a forearms length and razor sharp curved claws of at least four inches dug deeply into the barn floor, tearing up clumps of dirt and hay with each spasm of it's forepaws. She shuddered at the thought of these digging into her back, she now realized with deep understanding that she was very lucky to be sitting here still alive at the moment. She should have been dead.

As a last small act of reshaping, long pointed ears sprouted from what once had been Lucinda's own, and they began to instinctively cock from side to side as if listening to the beating of Xena's own frantic heart. She gasped slightly and the beast turned it's head sharply and locked it's burning red eyes onto her own. They narrowed as it honed in on her seated form and it's ears pinned back against it's head. A low growl came from it's throat and it's snout pulled back to reveal long sharp canines dripping with saliva already from the sight of her. Xena froze and braced herself though she knew the cage separated herself from it. It hesitated for only a brief second and sprang at her. Xena flinched and closed her eyes involuntarily and then she heard a loud crashing sound followed by a howl of what could only have been pain mixed with extreme rage. She heard Gabrielle scream and felt the bard bury herself deeper into her shoulder. She instinctively clutched Gabrielle tighter.

Xena opened her eyes again to see the beast's snout protruding through the bars, it's jaws snapping violently, it's huge forearms wrapped around the thick steel of the bars. Xena let out a slow breath as she tried to regain her composure. Then she watched as the beast's powerful arms began to attempt to pull away at the steel bars. She hadn't banked on such human calculation and a small dread began to slide around the pit of her stomach. She watched it work at this, it's muscles rippling beneath it's fur covering, as it strained to tear away the barrier between itself and it's quarry. She sighed again, as the bars were holding, and finally the beast gave up on this and jumped down to the ground in a maddened rage, raising it's snout to the roof and howling a beastly howl that send a chill down her spine.

Through all this Nuktimos had not moved. He still knelt there, frozen from the sight of what once had been his Lucinda.

A terrible rage pulsed through it as it had smelled the blood of her but could not reach her throat to quell it's deadly thirst. It howled in anger and it tasted her once again in the night air. She had escaped it once but she would not escape it again. It eyed the barrier that was the source of it's confinement and a small recognition spread over it. It had encountered this before, and had escaped it. It worked this puzzle around in it's brain, then it padded to the back of the enclosure and braced itself. It eyed the quarry between the bars and ran at it, pushing it's entire weight and strength forth. It smacked hard into the bars and a wave of pain shot through it. It recoiled in confusion, as this was not what it had expected. It quickly recovered and padded back to the same place as before. It lunged again, ramming itself into the bars, another shot of pain, but it felt the barrier move ever slightly. It paced back and continued it's work. It lived to taste her blood on it's lips and it would continue to rage against the barrier until it was free and it could sink it's teeth into her throat and finally taste of her completely.

****************

It sniffed the dirt in the clearing for traces of her. A faint essence of her blood was all it could find. That and it's own, and that of the other. It circled the clearing once again, searching for any sign of her in the sweat of the ground or the dampness of the night air. It made a wider arc and suddenly it found her again. It began to trace the faint trail of blood that she had left behind the night before. It padded down the roadway limping slightly as the wound at it's center was still open and festering, causing pain to pulse through it's body with each stride. None of this mattered much as it was hot on the trail of her, and she was all it knew or wanted.

New tastes mixed with her as it neared the village. It smelled many men, and a great pungent odour of fear permeated the air. It almost lost her in the overwhelming assault on it's senses. It paused, concentrating harder at honing in on the essence of her. It was about to howl it's frustration when a small trace of her swept across it's snout. It opened it's mouth slightly to taste of her on it's tongue. A shiver of excitement swept through it as it had found a fresh trail. It turned sharply, and began to follow it across the fields and away from the village. She was mixed with a taste of wild quarry and something else, another like her. Great pools of saliva began to drip down it's gaping jaws as it quickened it's pace.

*****************

"Gabrielle, take Nuktimos and Argo and go back to the inn!" Xena shouted to her over the loud bang of the beast on the cage walls.

Gabrielle was standing in a battle ready stance, between Xena and the cage. She didn't look back in fear the beast that was once Lucinda would break through the bars and lunge for them. She was trembling with fear but her instinct to protect Xena was much stronger. "I won't leave you Xena!" She snapped back her reply. She watched as Nuktimos was slowly backing away from the cage and heading over to them. She watched as the beast made another run at the cage. She braced herself. It leapt against the bars, a loud clanging of metal resonated through the barn and the ground shook ever slightly. She jumped instinctually, her eyes closing for a brief second, and then they opened. A small ripple of relief swept through her as the cage had held, and the beast was now rolling around in visible pain on the floor of the barn.

Nuktimos quickened his step and came over to Gabrielle. They now both stood in front of Xena in a protective stance, facing the cage. Nuktimos was shaking and pale but Gabrielle noted with mild surprise he now clutched the dagger tightly in his hand.

"Give me the dagger Nuktimos!" Xena cried. She was regretting having not insisted she carry it. She braced herself and reached out grabbing the bard from behind and used her as a hoist to lift herself up. She swayed slightly, her knees weakened but she commanded her body to remain upright. She silently cursed herself, yet again, for having accepted the white powder earlier. Her pain had subsided but the sacrifice on her motor skills had been too great.

"I will not!" Nuktimos cried. He turned to her. "Take Gabrielle and get out of here. I'll watch the cage."

Xena wavered at this offer. She desperately wanted Gabrielle to be safe, but she didn't trust Nuktimos to do what would be necessary should it come to that. Her thinking was clouded from the herb and her vision went white again. She shook her head in the hopes of clearing it. "The dagger, Nuktimos, or I'll have to fight you for it." She said evenly.

"So be it." Nuktimos replied. He turned to her and accepted the challenge.

"Stop it! Both of you!!" Gabrielle cried. She positioned herself between Nuktimos and Xena. "We all leave together, or no one goes." She commanded.

Both Xena and Nuktimos looked at her with wide eyes.

"This is..." She started to yell, but then she stopped. She realized she no longer had to scream as the sounds from the cage had stopped. They all turned to the cage. "Look!" Gabrielle cried with relief. "She's stopped trying to break free!"

Lucinda now stood on all fours at the center of the cage. Her eyes burned a deep red, studying them, and then it raised it's snout in the air to taste of them. It was motionless now, as if realizing it would not break the barrier through sheer will alone.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the trio and they all relaxed slightly.

Gabrielle turned around to Xena. "Sit down before you fall down!"

Xena relented and sat back down against the barn wall. Her eyes never left Nuktimos.

Nuktimos backed far enough away from the warrior woman in case she went for him. She would have to kill him before he gave her the dagger. They eyed each other warily.

Several moments passed where there was an uncomfortable silence amongst the group. Finally Gabrielle could stand it no longer. "Anybody want water?"

Nobody responded to her offer. "Well, I think I'll just take a sip myself then. Yep, I'm pretty dry right now, I must say. Actually, it's amazing I can talk at all, I doubt I have any spit left in my mouth. How about you guys? No? Hmm. Well you don't mind if I just take a sip myself then?" She watched the two intently as the first hint of a swallow came from Nuktimos, followed by Xena. She picked up the waterskin and drank deeply from it. She made a loud satisfied awww, after her swallow. "Great stuff." She stated. "Much better. Sure you don't want some?" She smiled inwardly as she watched Nutkimos break first and reach for the waterskin. He drank from it and handed it to Xena. She accepted it from him and the tense moment between them passed.

Everyone relaxed and turned to watch the cage again. They noticed that Lucinda had begun to pace, back and forth, from one end to the other. She made no attempt to ram the barrier. They all watched her movements becoming entranced in them, almost hypnotically.

Xena could no longer follow the pace of the beast, she had to close her eyes, as it was making her dizzy. She breathed out deeply and tried to remain focused. Something nagged at the back of her mind. There was something maddenly familiar about this and she strained to reach for the answer.

*****************

It padded quietly towards the farmhouse. As it approached it tasted it's other in the night air, and heard it's frantic pacing. It reached the barn and gazed towards the loft window. It was over half a story high, but it leap up to the opening with the quiet ease of a deadly calculating predator. It tasted of her, and the other, and a new smell it did not know. None of this much mattered as it slowly worked it's way to the edge of the loft. It was at first wary of it's other, but as it peered down it saw that it was in the strange place it had also been in before. It knew immediately it would not have to worry about competition for it's quarry, as it sensed the frustration and anger of it's trapped other. Then it's eyes locked onto her, it's teeth pulled back, and it readied itself to take her.

"Nuktimos," Gabrielle said. "Xena's only trying to protect us, she doesn't want to hurt Lucinda anymore than you do, you have to believe that."

"I know that Gabrielle, I,...it's just....she's my daughter....and.."

Xena sat there quietly working around the broken pieces in her head. She heard the pacing increase from the beast in the cage, and it was making it difficult to think and then it suddenly growled a low guttural warning. She tensed, and strained to hear for something she knew she should be listening for. "Shhh!" She cried. Gabrielle and Nuktimos stopped talking and froze.

And then she heard it. And all at once it all came back to her. And it suddenly all made sense. There had been two, not one last night in the clearing. She opened her eyes and looked up toward the loft. She saw nothing there. "Gabrielle, take Argo and get out of the barn." She spoke quietly and evenly.

"Xena?" Gabrielle turned to her. She saw the look in Xena's eyes and a terrible fear shot through her. "What is it?" She asked.

"Now, Gabrielle, move slowly, to the barn doors, I'll whistle for Argo when you get there. Slowly." She warned.

"Xena.....what....is..." Gabrielle bent down to help her up.

"No," Xena barked. "No time. Go to the barn door. Nuktimos, give me the dagger please."

Nuktimos was backing away from her shaking his head.

"Please Nuktimos." She pleaded evenly. "The loft. It's in the loft."

"What's in the loft...?" Nuktimos asked, his eyes now widening further. He turned slowly to look up into it.

"Another."Xena said. "Gabrielle, the door, now!" Bu the bard would not budge. She had also turned to look up into the loft. She saw Nuktimos begin to walk towards it. "No Nuktimos. Don't." He did not listen.

She braced herself against the wall and pushed herself up to a standing position. She took her chakrum from her belt slowly. "Nobody make any sudden movements." She growled.

The pacing of the beast in the cage became frenzied now.

Xena grabbed her arm. "Barn door Gabrielle. Our lives depend on it."

"Xena, not without you." Gabrielle said. "I'm sorry."

Nuktimos stepped closer to the loft and peered into the shadows. He could see nothing. And then he saw everything all at once. It sprung from the hay bales and landed on him sending him flying to the ground. He landed hard, immediately was knocked unconscious and the dagger flew across the dirt floor. It didn't bother to tear him apart, as it had other quarry in it's sights. It looked up and grinned at her. It was in no hurry as it slowly began to close the distance between it and her.

She pulled Gabrielle behind her in a protective stance. The beast was no more than twenty feet in front of them and she eyed the dagger in the dirt just ten feet to her right. She needed a diversion. She threw her chakrum at the beast and it dug deeply into it's chest. It howled in pain, and staggered backwards only briefly. Then it moved forward and continued to close in on her. Hades, she cried inwardly. She reached behind and unsheathed her sword.

Gabrielle moved to the side of her and readied her staff. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. Her eyes could not tear away from the monstrosity before her. It was much larger than Lucinda and caked with blood and gore. Drops of blood from where the chakrum was embedded landed along the dirt floor as it approached them.

Xena found her legs and began to move away from the bard in the hopes that it would follow her. It did just that, slowly, as if it had all the time in the world. And perhaps it did. She was making her way towards the fallen dagger. Unfortunately this was the opposite direction from the barn doors. Though she doubted this mattered much anyway. It would fell them in seconds if they attempted to run now. "No sudden movements Gabrielle." She warned. "Move slowly to the barn doors." The bard finally relented and began to move as instructed.

Lucinda eyed it's other from behind the bars. It was about to feast on what should have been it's own. A terrible rage consumed it. It would not be denied. It stopped it's pacing and studied the cage again. It padded towards the bars, pausing, as if to study them, and then it wrapped it's powerful forepaws around the bars and began to lift it from the ground.

Xena's eyes widened as she saw movement from the cage. Lucinda was lifting one end up, the deep spikes slowly rising from the dirt. She could not believe it. It was either the biggest break she'd ever had or the worse possible luck. She saw the beast pause and turn as well with this new sound coming from behind it. She took this split second opportunity to lunge for the dagger. She hit the ground hard, just inches away from where it lay. She reached out her hand to grasp it and then she heard Gabrielle scream a warning and it was on her.

It landed hard on top of her knocking the breath from her chest. She looked up into it's eyes, which were only inches away from her own. It had her pinned to the ground and she could not move her limbs. The weight of it was incredible. She tried to breath in but couldn't. It pulled back it's lips to reveal the sharp canines that were slowly opening in anticipation of her. She felt the first strands of saliva fall onto her throat. It was taking it's time as if to savor her, and she was frantically working her hand around trying to find the dagger. She couldn't. She prayed Gabrielle had gotten to the doors. She saw it's eyes narrow and knew it was ready. She braced herself for what was to come. Then she heard a large cracking sound. And the beast howled in pain and turned to see what had hit it.

The bard raised her staff high again and came down hard across it's spine.

It turned towards her, rage building at this intrusion on it's feast, and it's eyes narrowed honing in on her.

"Come on!" Gabrielle cried. "Come and get me!" She was about to raise her staff again when she heard a crash from behind her and a terrible weight sent her flying to the ground knocking her staff out of her hands.

Lucinda leapt past the falling bard and landed on the beast that was about to take what should have been hers. Both beasts rolled off Xena in a tumble of slashing claws and snapping jaws. They began to tear at each other.

Xena turned and spotted the dagger, she grabbed it with her outstretched hand. She raised herself up on one arm, clutching the dagger. Her heart was in her throat as she saw Gabrielle lying face down on the ground but then she saw her stir. "Gabrielle stay down!" She watched the beasts battle in front of her. She readied the dagger but hesitated. She would only be able to strike one blow.

Nuktimos was stirring behind her. He looked up, clutching his head. He saw the beasts tearing at one another and the warrior woman clutching the dagger readying it to throw. His heart leapt into his throat at the thought of it striking his daughter. "Xena! No!" He cried and lunged for her.

Xena heard him come for her and her decision was made. She whipped the dagger towards the tumbling beasts and hoped it would hit it's mark.

The dagger flew into the beast's back and it howled in fury and pain, It rose up on it's hindlegs and it's forepaws reached back wildly in a vain attempt to tear the object out of it's back that was causing it intense agony. It staggered, briefly and the other lunged for it's throat and tore it out.

Gabrielle took this brief moment to reach out and grab her staff. She still lay on the ground watching what was once Lucinda tear away at the other beast that lay dying. Then it raised it's head and turned to look past her. She followed it's eyes and turned to see Nuktimos on his knees behind Xena. Xena was attempting to get up but her legs were failing her. The bard made her decision and leapt up clutching her staff.

The beast had been eyeing the quarry it had longed to taste for and now that it's other was dead it readied itself to lunge for her. Then it caught the movement of the bard to it's right and it swung it's head around, a low growl coming from it's throat.

"Come on!" Gabrielle cried as she backed towards the open barn doors. She swung her staff in the air to attract it's predatory instincts. She watched as it's head moved as her staff did. She took another step back and it matched hers. She saw she had it's attention now, and she slowly backed out the doors. It followed.

"No Gabrielle!!!" Xena cried from the dirt floor. She watched as Gabrielle disappeared through the opening. She attempted to rise but her legs gave way. She turned to Nuktimos, her eyes pleading. "Nuktimos!"

He had been frozen but the eyes of the warrior woman broke him from it. He quickly rose from the floor and staggered to the dead beast. It's muscles were still spasming, it's jaws working up and down, but it was no longer alive. He used all his strength to heave the body over. Then he pulled the dagger from it's back and ran out the door.

Xena whistled for Argo who had been tucked into the far corner of the barn. She whinnied and trotted to her master.

Gabrielle backed slowly away from the barn. The beast followed her. It was dark but the moonlight illuminated the clearing a eerie blue. So far her plan had worked but she had not thought any further than this. She panicked as she saw the beast ready itself to lunge for her and her instincts took over and she turned and ran in the direction of the sheep pen. She knew this was a mistake but couldn't stop herself. It was only fifty feet away and she ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. She could here it gaining on her, it's pads smacking the hard ground. She was nearly at the fence when she felt it land hard across her back sending her flying to the ground and crashing into the rails. It gave way as her body broke through it and she felt a sharp pain shoot across her leg as part of a rail tore into her thigh. She hit the ground hard but held tightly to her staff. She felt it's powerful claw roll her over and she was suddenly staring into the face of a demon.

It bent down to tear her throat out but hesitated.

Gabrielle saw it's jaws open and closed her eyes tightly, waiting to be taken.

It eyed the pendant on her neck and it's vision swirled. For a brief second it was aware and Lucinda looked down at Gabrielle and saw her friend. She began to back away from her stepping off her chest.

Gabrielle felt the beast back away and opened her eyes. She sat up and stared into the burning red of the beast's eyes and thought she saw recognition. "Lucinda?" She called tentatively. "It's me Gabrielle, your friend." But she saw the eyes narrow and the beast inside returned. She found her battle instinct then, and raised her staff swinging it hard against beast's head. It made a large cracking sound. It shook it's head and howled.

It was wild with anger as its quarry had sent a sharp pain across it's head. It had had enough of this and lunged for her throat. Then it felt a weight upon it's back and it's eyes widened in surprise. It never made it to her throat. It instinctively rolled over and used it's powerful forepaws to tear at what had interrupted it's feast.

Nuktimos rolled with the beast that had once been his daughter, he plunged the dagger deep in her chest as he felt her powerful claws reach round and tear at his throat. Shooting pain swept across his neck but he held tight to the beast, gripping hard on the dagger's handle, and pushing it deeper still. He felt the life slip out of the beast as the life poured out of him. His eyes were locked on to the red eyes of the beast as the they rolled on the ground, but before he died he saw his daughter recognize him. A quiet understanding pasted between them briefly and then they were gone. They landed in a heap, ten feet from Gabrielle.

Gabrielle watched in horror as they lay still in the clearing. Tears welled in her eyes and a great sorrow filled her heart. She had to turn away and bury her head in her hands.

"Gabrielle!" Xena cried as she raced out through the barn doors on Argo's back. She was wild with panic as she saw the bard laying in the sheep pen, the fence torn open. She spotted Nuktimos and the beast wrapped around each other, ten feet from Gabrielle. She reached the enclosure and jumped down off Argo, and her legs gave way.

"Xena!" Gabrielle turned to see her fall. She got up, clutching her thigh, blood dripping from the gash, and limped over to her. She collapsed down beside the warrior and hugged her tightly. "Hey, you ok?" She asked, through tear streaked eyes.

"I am now." Xena replied and hugged her back even tighter. "Is Nutkimos?" She asked.

Gabrielle nodded.

They both turned to look at Nuktimos and the beast that lay entangled on the ground. Then they both gasped together as they saw the beast slowly reshape itself to the naked form of Lucinda.

"Oh Lucinda," Gabrielle whispered. Then she buried her head into Xena's shoulder, the vision to sorrowful to bear any longer on her heavy heart.

Xena held her, stroking her hair, for a long time. She found comfort in this ritual just as the bard found comfort in her touch. She closed her eyes and sank her head into Gabrielle's hair and tried to erase the vision before her. But she knew this was not to be as she would carry this in her heart for many years to come.

Epilogue

-----------

She opened her eyes again, and she was looking at brilliant blue eyes, and they were Xena's. The warrior princess bent down and kissed her again.

"Morning," Xena whispered to her. They were lying in the bed, back at the inn. They had slept for nearly two days now. The night had drained them, and had taken a tiny piece of their souls with it. They would be forever changed.

"Xena," Gabrielle smiled. "I just had the most beautiful dream, and Lucinda and Nuktimos were in the elysian fields, and they were happy."

Xena smiled down at her. "I know they are Gabrielle. And we have to keep thinking of them. And the purity of their hearts."

Gabrielle nodded quietly. "I'll miss her." Then her thoughts came back to the warrior. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better but I'm wonderful at the moment. How's your leg feel?" She suddenly got a worried look on her face. She had dressed the wound again last night and had checked it while Gabrielle slept. It had looked like it would heal nicely, and no infection was apparent.

"A little sore, I think. I'll live." Gabrielle smiled at her. Then she saw Xena get that wicked grin she was beginning to finally understand after two years. "Why?" She asked tentatively.

Xena bent down and began to kiss her neck. "Just concerned." She replied absentmindedly.

"Really." Gabrielle said, her thoughts beginning to drift as they always did when the warrior kissed her.

"Uh huh." Xena whispered between kisses. She began to suck gently on Gabrielle's neck.

Gabrielle breathed in deeply as the first wave of desire swept through her. This woman would be the death of her yet, she thought to herself. "That's nice." She whispered in Xena's ear. Xena sucked harder in response to her encouragement. A heat was already beginning to warm her and she moaned softly under the lips of her lover. She lifted up her hands and gripped Xena's head in her hands hard.

"Oww!" Xena cried. "Watch the head wound." A wave of pain swept through her skull making her dizzy for a few seconds again.

"Oh gods! Xena! I forgot, sorry.." Gabrielle cried. She carefully placed her hands on Xena's shoulders and found a safe place for them there.

Xena closed her eyes and basked in the feel of Gabrielle under her. She wanted to ravage her, but had to keep herself from doing so in case someone got hurt here. An incredible heat was already building in her and she marveled at how Gabrielle could invoke such a response in her. But she rarely pondered these life questions for very long. She was a woman of action and just enjoyed it, not wanting to miss a single sensation. She shifted her body on top of Gabrielle and sank into the softness of her.

"Oww, ooww my leg, my leg." Gabrielle gasped. Xena's thigh had brushed by it sending a wave of pain across her.

"Gabrielle! Sorry." Xena lifted herself over slightly and clear of Gabrielle's injured thigh. The bard was tight but she felt her slowly relax again. She lifted her head up and looked into Gabrielle's eyes. "That better?" She asked worriedly.

Gabrielle nodded, and lifted her head up slightly to pull the warrior down for a kiss. The pulsing pain was subsiding and her desire overtook it once again. She felt the warrior melt into her again, as she kissed her harder, slipping her tongue deep into her mouth, where is was met by Xena's own.

Xena groaned as another shot of desire passed through her as her tongue danced with Gabrielle's. She began to shake ever slightly. Gods, she was beside herself.

Gabrielle felt the warrior respond to her, taking her own desire to a higher level. She ran her fingers down Xena's back hard.

"HMMPTH!!!!" Xena's eyes shot open and she stifled a cry as fresh hot agony tore across her back.

Gabrielle pulled away from Xena's mouth in horror. "Gods! Xena! Did I hurt you?" She cried.

Xena closed her eyes again, trying to will the pain to subside that danced like fire across her back. She breathed out slowly and evenly. "Oh no, loving ever moment of it."

"Oh Xena, I...did...I forgot about your back..." Gabrielle stammered.

"Shhh." Xena whispered to her, comforting the bard. This was not going according to plan, no, not even close. She sighed inwardly, willing the pain to dissipate. By the gods she was going to have her way with this woman no matter how much it hurt. She bent down and kissed Gabrielle deeply answering any doubts in the bard's mind.

Gabrielle greeted Xena's lips with her own passionate kiss and she moved her hands around carefully, finally deciding on a resting place at the small of Xena's back where she knew nothing was injured. Gods this was getting too difficult.

Xena broke from her lips and began to kiss her face, and then her neck as she slowly worked her way down to her breasts. She sucked gently on Gabrielle's nipple, and she felt the bard shake slightly. She flicked it with the tip of her tongue and Gabrielle began to moan softly. Now we were getting somewhere Xena sighed inwardly. She circled her nipple expertly, eliciting another deep moan from the bard, and then she sucked hard on it, sending a fresh wave of desire through herself and the bard simultaneously. She was truly beginning to enjoy herself. The sun was shining in through the window warming her back. She loved to make love in the morning when her senses were at their most sharp. She wasn't sure Gabrielle would be real keen on the idea but it sure beat trying to rouse the sleeping bard by force. She doubted mornings would ever be the same again now that they had taken their first steps as both lovers and best friends.

She continued her assault on Gabrielle's senses and she slowly worked her way down her abdomen. The bard's chest was rising and falling more rapidly in anticipation of the warrior's intentions. Xena reached Gabrielle's thighs and began to kiss them, nipping gently along the inside and working her way teasingly to where Gabrielle begged her to go.

"Xena. please.." Gabrielle whispered through clenched teeth.

Xena relented, and buried her mouth deep into Gabrielle, her tongue tasting the sweet honey of Gabrielle's juices. This was in turn driving herself dizzy with need. She began to work her tongue slowly around in a slow seductive tease. Gabrielle was moaning louder now with each circle of her tongue. She was so enjoying the sounds of Gabrielle's passionate moans that she didn't hear the knock on the door until Gabrielle stiffened under her touch. She looked up too see Gabrielle looking at her.

"Morning!" Someone called from behind the door.

Both Xena's and Gabrielle's eyes narrowed and they both spat his name under their breath in unison. "Salmoneus."

"I just baked a fresh batch of these cracker things, they're incredible. I need you to try them out for me. They're going to be big!" He said.

Gabrielle closed her eyes in frustration and dropped her head back down on the pillow, breathing out slowly and painfully.

"Thanks Salmoneus." Xena barked. "Just leave them at the door. Ok?"

"Sure, oh great warrior..., I'll just leave them here then, on the ground..." He stammered. She heard him scramble back down the inn passage.

Xena sighed deeply and hung her head in defeat. The moment was dead. "Gabrielle, we gotta get out of this town."

Gabrielle was looking up at the ceiling. "I know."

"How about right now." Xena sighed.

"I'm right behind you Xena." Gabrielle replied.

"First nice clearing in the forest?" Xena asked.

"I'm there." Gabrielle stated.

***********

"What do you think you're doing!!!!" Xena cried as she came out of the inn and spotted Salmoneus standing by Argo and rummaging around in her saddle bags.

Salmoneus jumped and whirled around with yellow flowers grasped tightly in one hand and a cloth of crackers in the other. His eyes widened as he saw Xena hurry her pace and head for him hell bent for leather. He went to speak but no words came forth.

She reached him, anger bursting through her pores. "Give me those!" She growled through clenched teeth as she swiped the flowers out of his hand.

"I...uh...I was just packing some crackers for your trip...." Salmoneus gulped. "I...well...those are nice flowers you have there...and I didn't want to ...."

"And what about the flowers Salmoneus?" She growled leaning into him. He in turned instinctively leaned back, and swallowed hard.

"Xena!" Gabrielle cried as she came out the inn door to see Xena in a threatening pose looming over Salmoneus. She saw the flowers in Xena's hands and immediately sized up the situation. Oh boy. She quickened her pace. "Careful with my flowers Xena!" She called.

They both turned to see the bard hurrying over, a slight panic in her voice.

"Right." Xena said evenly and handed them to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle turned to Salmoneus. "I love flowers, Salmoneus, you know, I try and collect some from each village, kind of like a keepsake. Momento, souvenir."

"Ahhh," Salmoneus nodded in understanding. Souvenir was something he understood. "How appropriate then."

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked.

"Wolfsbane." He replied.

"Excuse me?" Xena interrupted.

"Well, er, yes, these are wolfsbane, you know....it's a flower...it.." He noticed both Gabrielle and Xena had surprised looks on their faces. "A nice choice, I might add, autumn bloomer, yes." He hurried. Why did they always make him so darn nervous.

"Wolfsbane." Gabrielle repeated to herself. "Hmm."

"Well then," Xena said. "We should be going. You're staying right?" She grabbed the flowers from Gabrielle's hand and stuffed them deep down into the saddle bags. Wolfsbane, or not, these were a keeper.

Salmoneus looked over at her. "Yes, for a little while, until the relatives can come and take over the inn. I though I might try a few things. Dress it up, a little decoration, upscale, fine dining. You can charge more that way you know."

"Whatever." Xena said rolling her eyes. As long as he wasn't coming with them. That was all that mattered.

"Fine dining." Gabrielle repeated to herself. Who in their right mind would pay more for the same thing because the place looked nicer. By the gods, Salmoneus was losing it.

Salmoneus turned to Gabrielle. "Yes, well I'll miss you guys...I'm sure we'll..." His voice trailed off as his eyes caught sight of a large purple bruise on Gabrielle's neck. He pondered this. Must have been from the battle, but somehow....

Gabrielle saw Salmoneus staring at her. What was he looking at. She suddenly felt self conscious. She turned to see Xena look quickly away as a small grin was attempting to escape her mouth. She pondered this for a few seconds. "Huh. Well, we'll meet again soon Salmoneus." She gave him a big hug. Hopefully not too soon, she thought.

Salmoneus hugged Gabrielle and then turned to Xena. There was an awkward pause. Then the warrior extended her hand. He shook it and tried hard not to scream when she squeezed it painfully tight. "Ahh. take care, warrior princess...it's been..." His eyes travelled down to her feet. She had no boots on and he noted then, with further surprise, neither did Gabrielle. He immediately decided to not say a word about it.

The warrior mounted Argo, and helped Gabrielle up behind her.

Salmoneus waved goodbye. "Oh wait, the crackers!" He hurried a few paces to catch them. He saw the warrior breath out evenly and tense again. She was definitely on edge this morning, he thought. She really needed to relax more, she was way too uptight. He pondered this, perhaps there was dinars to be made here. Hmmm.

"Thank you Salmoneus." Gabrielle said as she reached out and took the bound cloth from him. "What are they called again?" She asked.

"Ritz crackers." He replied. "Going to be big, I'm telling you."

"Ritz crackers." Gabrielle said to herself. Sounds ridiculous. Xena kicked Argo with her heels and Gabrielle's wave good bye almost cost her a tumble. "Whoa!" She cried. "Bye Salmoneus." She grabbed on tight to Xena's waist as they galloped down the road and away from the village.

They galloped for ten minutes, Gabrielle hanging on for dear life until finally Xena relaxed slightly and allowed Argo to slow her pace.

Gabrielle breathed out her tension as she felt Xena finally release some of her own. She hugged the warrior tightly. "So where are we going?"

"First town that sells boots."Xena replied flatly.

"And." Gabrielle prodded.

"And then we take a much needed vacation." She sighed.

"Sounds wonderful...but..." Gabrielle hesitated.

"But first we find that clearing." Xena replied to the bard's unspoken words. "I know of a nice one about half hour from here, with a stream, and a beautiful meadow."

Gabrielle smiled, "Now that sounds like a plan!"

"Gabrielle," Xena growled, "Don't jinx this please."

"Yeah, your right." Gabrielle replied.

"How about I tell you a story while we travel?' Gabrielle asked tentatively.

"I'd love one, but no sex." She warned. "At least not until we're almost there."

"I promise." Gabrielle smiled. She reached down and took a cracker from the cloth. She took a bite. "Hey, Xena, these are great!" She cried. "Try a bite." She coaxed, reaching round and placing it near Xena's mouth. The warrior wouldn't bite. "No? Alright, more for me." She took another bite. "Delicious!"

The warrior was slowly giving in. She hadn't eaten in how long? Did she ever actually eat? "Give me a Tartarus cracker then!" She growled. She let the bard place one in her mouth. Not bad, she thought to herself.

"Pretty dry though..." Gabrielle said, suddenly very thirsty. "Ok, here goes. I tell a tale of a Great Warrior Princess, she was my Companion, my Lover, and my Best friend! We rode.."

"Too long." Xena interrupted. "Another cracker please." She asked.

"What do you mean too long?" Gabrielle asked with slight irritation as she placed another cracker in the warrior's mouth.

"Phtoo many descriptives..."Xena mumbled, finding it difficult to talk now.

"Huh." Gabrielle said more to herself than anyone. "Well you come up with a shorter description then!" She growled.

"Just say compthanion." Xena replied, her mouth full.

"It sounds too much like a dog." Gabrielle whined, "It doesn't truly describe the deep bond we have as.."

"Lover then." Xena snapped. "Cracker please?"

Gabrielle placed another in her mouth. "Thought about it, too one dimensional, too physical, like we just have sex together, not enough heart."

"Sounds good at the moment." Xena growled. Her patience thinning as her unfulfilled needs were reaching critical levels.

"True." Gabrielle replied. "But, no, it has to be all three.."

"By the gods Gabrielle, you're driving me CRAZY!" Xena cried.

"Well that is part of the plan, maybe you'll pick up the pace here then?" Gabrielle taunted her.

Xena did just that and began to gallop to the special place she was desperate to reach now.

"She was my lover, my companion, and my best friend, no wait, that's not right. My friend, my lover, my companion...no, doesn't roll of the tongue well. My companion, my lover, and my best friend...yes, that's the keeper right there." Gabrielle said and then sighed. "Oh it does sound too much doesn't it. What do you think Xena? Xena? Are you listening to me?" Gabrielle asked. Then she nearly fell off again as Xena whistled at Argo and the pace increased dramatically.

She had her answer. She stopped trying to put a label on it and just went along for the ride. She gripped Xena tightly around the waist, leaning her head into her shoulder and drank in the moment. A small smile spread across her face as she knew there was no place on earth she'd rather be.

THE END - Thank the Gods!

Xena says "Wait a minute! We haven't made it to the clearing yet." I say oh, well, maybe next time. *VBG* Uh oh, she's getting out her sword. Phopas runs for cover.

Warning: The first sex scene, the only one actually, we can't count that last one can we sports fans? Phopas ducks as chakram wizzes by her head. Phew! Ok, The Warning: Do not, I repeat, do not attempt this in your own home, and especially not by yourself! It is a very difficult and dangerous procedure requiring great skill. In fact, Xena did not perform all of the maneuvers herself, only the ones where you can see her face.

Special thanks to Maleva, whom took time out of her busy schedule to appear in this story. She's a good sport. I plucked her from the 1941 movie, The Wolf Man. She was wandering around the bogs, searching for Lon Chaney.

The Cage: I have absolutely no idea how much the darn thing would weight so I lied and said a ton. It sounded good, so I left it in instead of going to Home Depot and getting out the furkin calculator.

No ritz crackers suffered permanent damage during the making of this story, though many were burned at Salmoneus's hand.

And no one really died. When it got too scary, the characters were replaced by blow up dolls. The popping sound did scare the werewolf, however.

Copyright 1997 Trish Kerr (Phopas)

Comments and criticisms are gladly accepted - my email is pkerr@interlog.com