It was late afternoon when the army reached the base of the Zama ridge break. A small camp of tents was already set up in the open grassy field to the north of the highway. The Nations engineers were finishing up hacking out lanes in the forest on either side of the break for the Ithacan army to use in the Warleaders surprise for the Carthaginians. Gabrielle selected a large lonely oak tree growing beside the road at the bottom of the ridge as the place for the command tent to be raised. The tree would make an easy landmark to locate the Queen and Warleader. She stood in the road and directed the companys to the left and right as they arrived to set up their individual camps. With practiced discipline each company quickly established a little village, raising tents retrieved from the supply wagons in precise alignment and predetermined order. Nothing was done by whim or chance. Every warrior knew her task and hardly an order was issued. As the setting sun reached the top of the ridge and dusk began to gather Gabrielle walked each company encampment with quiet satisfaction, her bodyguard trailing behind her like a pack of faithful dogs. The warriors, four to a small tent, all sat crosslegged in front of their shelters eating their cold rations and talking and laughing. Most of the women she saw and talked to as she wandered along the company streets were only a few years younger than the young Queen of the Amazons, a few were older, but all seemed too young to Gabrielle's old eyes. As she squatted by a tent sampling some dried jerky she was offered, or stood in the middle of a street telling a story or bawdy joke to forty or fifty warriors that had gathered around, she found herself thinking of the prayer that she had offered to Artemis back beside the Ahkeloos river. 'If we are doomed to lose this war, let the first death be mine. If I can't lead the people well in life,then let me lead them in death.' The words played over and over again in her consciousness as she looked at these trusting young faces that were certain the Queen and Warleader would lead them to victory. As she moved among her warriors a new prayer to the goddess formed in her mind, 'Artemis I pray, don't let a single one of my women die because of some oversight of mine. Help me do all there is to do for them.'
As real darkness settled over the Amazon army orders came from the Warleader to each company to send a work party to the forests on each side of the break to remove the timber and brush cut by the engineers and burn it in company bonfires. The Lion had been inspecting the work and wanted the signs of their efforts to disappear just in case any curious Carthaginian scouts might be lurking about. Looked down on by a clear starry night and a orange harvest moon six great fires quickly flared up into the sky, spewing out glowing sparks that drifted lazily up into the still air till they faded away into the blackness. Soon drums began to sound from each camp and then songs. Each company had its own favorite and it quickly became a competition as each village tried to drown out the other with the sound of its own singing. Warriors began dancing around the fires, many of them naked, not wanting to stain with sweat the few clothes they had that were now hanging from tent poles and lines where they were placed to dry after the days dirt and sweat had been washed out in company wash tubs. The end of every song was acompanied by wild Amazon battlecrys and shouts from neighboring companys that their rivals sang like old grandmothers.
Gabrielle watched silently, an invisible wall around her that no one violated. Surrounded by people she was alone, and she felt it. These women were here, their lives and futures in danger, because of the decisions she had made. She could never truly share their experience, their emotion, at this moment. An Amazon Queen wore a mask for a reason. Because the human being behind it needed a place to hide herself and her fears and weaknesses and frail humanity. Her people must only see a Queen. She was with them, but not part of them. She must be the unbreakable rock they could cling to against the storm.
The bards last stop was the company of Pyra, where she joined in singing the companys favorite song, about two lovers separated by war who see each others eyes in the twinkling stars above, until suddenly one realizes that the stars truly are her lovers eyes, for she has died in battle and become the stars, always watching over her love till they can be reunited again in the sky. When the song was done there was a long moment of silence as the warriors of Pyra realized with a start that all the other companys had stopped their singing to listen. Suddenly the deep melancholy quiet was broken by a single warcry. A distinctive yiyiyi that only lungs of leather could have produced. Gabrielle smiled, because for an instant it felt like her mate was calling just for her, to break the lonely spell she was in, but then the bard threw up her arm and answered with her own warcry and instantly a thousand voices joined her. The sound became primitive and dangerous, young predators howling their defiance to the moon and the stars and the sky. Then the drums and the songs and the dancing began again wilder than before.
Gabrielle made her way to the command tent and found Xena sitting on a camp chair, leaning back against the trunk of the oak, whittling slowly on a stick she had found in the forest. A small fire burned in front of the tent, Tia squatting by it tending a spitted chicken that cooked over it. As the bard approached she rose and motioned with her hand for the Queen to eat.
"No thank you Tia," Gabrielle said quietly, "split it among my guard then go to bed. I won't need you again till morning."
The young aide bowed her head. "Yes my Queen."
Gabrielle walked past her and went to her mate. The Lion had on her warlord mask, her eyes intense and yet distant, all her energy turned inward. The bard knew the look, when her mate focused herself as no one else could, her entire mind and being concentrated on the problem at hand, no stray thought or sensation intruding as she considered every option, visualized every possiblity, planned every response to every eventuality. Over the years Gabrielle had come to understand how her lover could always be one step ahead of her enemies in every battle. It was because, during these moments of intense concentration, she had thought out her reaction to every situation and filed away the plan, to be pulled and acted on the moment it was needed. She had already done her thinking, while they were desperatly trying to do thiers. It was not instinct or luck that carried her through so much danger, but the superior weapon of her mind that dominated her foes.
Gabrielle silently sat down on the ground between her mates legs, her own crossed under her, and she put an arm over one of the Lions legs and laid her head on it. Xena quietly put her knife back in her boot and her whittle stick down and her hands began to absently stroke the bards long, fine, redblonde hair. Her concentration however never wavered. The silence between them was long as each was lost in her own thoughts. The singing and warcries continued unabated. The bard watched the dark silhouettes of her warriors as they danced in circles across the face of the bonfires, working themselves into a frenzy of violent emotion.
"Xena?" the Queen said finally. "Shouldn't we stop them? They're going to need some rest."
The Lion slowly came out of the reviere she was in and her eyes focused again on the world. She looked around at the scene her mate had been observing, then down at the bard. She ran her hand gently over Gabrielles head.
"No," she said quietly, "let'm go. There will be no battle tomorrow. They can sleep. Tonight they must find themselves as warriors. They've been scattered little villagers practicing their battle skills and playing at war. Now they must bind themselves to the army and each other. They must feel the special bond of warriors, a bond that will keep them in the battle line even as they're peeing down their legs in terror. The comradeship that will make running away and showing themselves a coward to their friends even more painful than death. Let them share this night together as long as it lasts. Let them feel the strength of their bodies and the courage in the hearts around them and in their own hearts. This night will have to carry them through the horror that's coming Gabrielle."
The bard sighed deeply and turned her head to kiss Xena's leg. The Lion bent over and kissed her mates ear. Then a silence settled over them as they watched the warriors of the Nation prepare their hearts and souls for war. The dancing and singing lasted long into the night but at last the great fires burned down and the singing died away as the Chiefs ordered their companies to bed and posted guards at the end of each lane of tents. In the quiet the mates could hear the lowing of oxen in their rope corral on the north side of the road while the draft horses of the supply train rustled nervously at times in their own corral to the south . As the white full moon rose in the east Xena and Gabrielle watched as the guard in front of the command tent was changed, two young warriors appearing out of the dark and changing places with the two already there, only a few quiet words of greeting exchanged. Finally the Lion leaned over as she stroked her mates hair and whispered.
"What are you thinking my love?"
The bard took in a deep breath and let it slowly out.
"I..." she hesitated. "I was thinking about my life beloved. How I came to this place, this moment. The journey I've taken, the lessons I've learned, the people I've met. The things that have made me happy and the things I regret."
Xena stared out into the darkness and let out a little sigh. "Regret," she whispered. "Yes, regret." Her gaze shifted to her mate.
"What do you regret most in your life beautiful?" the Lion asked.
"Perdicus," The bard answered immediatly, "I regret that my fear took his life."
Xena frowned deeply. "Gabrielle," she protested. "Callisto killed Perdicus. That crime is on her head."
"No," the Queen sighed. "Callisto was like a rabid dog. She was what she was. There is no use blaming a rabid dog for the people it bites. It can't help itself. It can only be put out of its misery. But Perdicus should never have been in the dog's way. He and Callisto should never have met. She was after you and I. To hurt us. And she killed Perdicus just for that reason. But I should never have married him. He shouldn't have been there when Callisto found me. Only my fear placed him in her way."
"Gabrielle," the Lion said soothingly, sympathetically, trying to ease her mates pain, "you loved Perdicus. He loved you. What else could..."
"Yes," the bard interrupted, her eyes dark and turned inward, remembering those days, her voice low. "I think he did love me. But I didn't love him Xena. I loved you. And that love frightened me, frightened me to my very soul. I knew it was more than the love of friendship. I wanted to be everything to you beloved, "Gabrielle hesitated and swallowed hard," and I didn't know where those emotions came from or how to express them or if I did, how you would feel. I didn't know if you would be amused or repelled or just dismiss it as foolishness. And even if I found some way to tell you of my feelings, I knew nothing Xena, nothing. Not how to hold you or love you or make you understand the depth of my passion. I was a bard without the words to tell you the deepest longings of my heart." Gabrielle stopped to wipe a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. "I was just afraid. All the time afraid. Afraid of thinking the wrong thought, saying the wrong word, doing the wrong thing and having my entire world crash down on me. One look from you Xena, a look that said all my feelings and hopes were built on sand, and I would have been devastated." The bard sighed. "You can't live every day with that much fear beloved. It's impossible. It was eating me alive. Then Perdicus came and said simply, marry me, and like a coward looking for a place to hide I said yes. Yes I'll marry you and we'll have children and live the life I was supposed to live, that everyone expected me to live, and I'll escape this terrible fear, I'll escape from myself. I'll be the someone everyone wants me to be and not me anymore. When we kissed and said goodbye after the wedding Xena, I wasn't running to Perdicus's bed, I was running away from yours. I was using that poor sweet boy to escape my fear and so he wound up spitted on Callisto's blade." The bard took some deep breathes to control herself. "He should be home in Potadia right now with a wife who adores him and his children around him. He was so loving and considerate of me on our one night together. He was a good boy becoming a good man and now he's dust because of my cowardice. Oh Xena," the bard whispered raggedly, "he's the shade that haunts me most."
There was a long silence as Gabrielle let the deep emotions she felt fade slowly back to their usual resting place while Xena stroked her long redblonde hair and massaged her neck. Finally the bard turned enough that she could look up at her mate.
"What is your deepest regret beloved?" she asked.
Xena took a deep breath and let it out
You would think," the Lion said with a slight, ironic smile, " that in a life filled with regrets it would be hard to pick out just one," her eyes shifted down to her mate's," but it's not. Solon, beloved, always Solon." The Warrior Princess closed her eyes as if she could not bear to see the memory shimmering before her. "I placed my precious son in the hands of a stranger and walked away from him. On that day I reached the bottom of the pit." The Lions lips curled in a sneer. "I told myself I was doing a noble thing, saving him from me and the people who hated me. But the truth is Gabrielle I did it out of pure, evil selfishness. I didn't want a baby dragging on my tit and slowing me down as I raced for the power and glory I knew was out there waiting for me. That Alti prophicied and Ares promised. On that terrible day, when I should have been walking away from my army with Borius' child in my arms, the child he died trying to save, for both of us, I discovered a new depth of selfhatred. I left behind the last human parts of me. I became the lion, an animal with nothing but an appetite. An appetite for conquest and fear. I lived as that animal for a long time, denying to myself that there was anything human left. But Solon was always there, in my dreams, in the shadows, looking at me with sad reproachful eyes. At last I realized I had to climb out of that awful place or perish. I had to be something more than an animal, for my son's sake if nothing else. I was trying, trying with all my strength, but the walls were steep and slippery and I know I would have fallen back but then a miracle occured. I came across a ladder. A sturdy ladder that bore me up and out of the pit." Xena leaned down and kissed Gabrielle. "Thank you for being my ladder" she whispered.
The bard put her hand behind Xena's head and pulled her back and they kissed a long time. When they finally parted Gabrielle looked at her mate with shining eyes.
"And what has made you happy, beloved?'' she asked
A little smile came to the Lions face and her eyes shone like the bards. Slowly she moved her hand up Gabrielle's right arm till it rested over the intricate marriage tattoo. She squeezed hard.
"Yes my beloved," Gabrielle whispered through a smile, "that was my happiest day, and night, too. On that day, for the first time, my life made sense to me. I knew with absolute certainty that I was in the right place doing the right thing. I felt awestruck by the simple, beautiful clarity of it." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against her mates. ''That feeling is something I will treasure all my life Xena. Only you could have produced it in me."
"On that day Gabrielle," the Warrior Princess said as she put her hand behind the bards neck, "I found what I had been looking for my entire life without ever realizing it. I found my home. My soul was not doomed to blow aimlessly on the wind after all. The Lion had found her place in the world. What a gift you've given me beloved."
Xena pulled Gabrielle to her and their lips carressed for a very long time, two hearts connected to each other by flesh and by things more lasting than flesh.
*********************************************
The bard closed her eyes and all of the air escaped from her lungs. For a moment she did not think any oxygen would come back in but at last her chest expanded and she caught her breath. She stood a long time where she was, slowly breathing in and out, searching for some control over her raging emotions and trembling heart. Finally she made her way to the big green chair on the platform in the middle of the room. She sat down on the throne of the Amazon Queen, her posture rigid and perfect, and waited. The candle marks passed one after the other with agonizing slowness. Gabrielle did not move. She hardly breathed. Slowly one torch after another in the room used up its fuel and sputtered out. As the last one died, leaving the room in blackness, the Queen finally stirred herself. She found the back wall with her hand and walked along it to the door of her private rooms. She entered and fired with a click of flints some dry straw that waited in a earthen bowl on a table close to the door. She picked up a small oil lamp and lit the wick from the burning straw before it could flare out. As she walked through the sitting room and library, where she kept all the hundreds of scrolls that she loved to collect, to the bedroom she noticed that the flame kept wavering, despite her best efforts to hold the lamp steady. As she sat down on the edge of her bed she put the lamp on a small table and held her hands up before the light. They both vibrated like the delicate wings of a butterfly in a breeze. She rubbed them hard together then held them up again, trying with all her might to still them. They continued to tremble. The bard took a deep breath, then another. She felt as if she were floating, unconnected to the earth, a ghost. She forced herself to stand and remove her clothes, laying them carefully across the foot of the bed. She blew out the lamp and crawled under the single blanket. As she lay on her back staring into the darkness voices began to whisper around her. Voices she could not understand, soft voices, angry voices, frightened voices, accusing voices, demanding voices. The bard put her hands over her ears but the whispering continued. She pulled her hands down to her cheeks.
"Oh Xena, please help me," she said in a desperate whisper, "I'm breaking. Please help me."
"No you're not." a clear strong voice answered from the blackness.
Gabrielle jerked with shock and bolted upright. "Xena!"
A tall black shape materialized from the darkness and sat down next to the bard encircling her shoulders with an arm.
"You're not going to break" the Lion said quietly. "You're the strongest person I've ever known. Only the strongest hearts can give as much of themselves to others as you do. Only a will of iron can bridle a lion as you've done." Xena put her other arm around her mate and put her mouth close to her ear. '' You are Queen of the Amazon Nation," she whispered. "The steady rock at the center of your peoples lives. The rock that I cling to against the storms of my own soul. You are Gabrielle and your spirit is an unquenchable fire. Have faith my most beloved, have faith in yourself."
Gabrielle closed her eyes and took long deep breathes. Her pounding heart began to slow. She put her hand on Xena's arm and laid her head on her shoulder. There was a long silence, finally broken when the bard asked in a hoarse voice
"Xena, where have you been?"
The Lion did not answer for a moment, an eternity it seemed to the bard. At last she cleared her throat.
"Well," she said. "I went and got something to eat. Then I saddled Argo and headed for Vonitsa. I don't take orders Gabrielle, I give them. I haven't done what I was told since I was ten years old and refused to clean up my room. Mother gave me a whipping but it wasn't picked up then and it's probably still a mess. She gave up trying to give me orders. My strength isn't in my arms or legs or brain, beloved, it's in my will. My life is a testament to the power and destructiveness of my will. But as I reached the edge of Farsala," Xena hesitated and swallowed hard against a rising tightness in her throat, "the awful, sterile, lonliness that has been so much of my life flooded over me again." She took a breath to steady herself. "I suddenly understood that I was cutting out my own heart to keep from cleaning up my room." Xena pulled Gabrielle tightly to her. "It's time I grew up beloved and stopped being that ten year old. I'm your mate Gabrielle and you're mine. I've pledged my life to you and it's the most meaningful thing I've ever done. I'll do anything I must to keep you, beautiful, including reining in my bloated ego. If I can't find some way to submit myself now and then to the person I love and trust most in this world then I'm lost beloved, I'm lost." Xena took a ragged breath through her teeth and sniffed and wiped her eye. "Anyway I woke up Ephiny and she woke up a hotblood named Keola that she swears by as a scout and clever operator. Keola is on her way right now to Vonitsa with my memorized list of information to be discovered. From that arrogant look of confidence I saw in her eyes she may just pull it off."
The bard rubbed her mates arm and relaxed her body against that strong shoulder. She stared into the darkness for a long time thinking.
"Xena," she said finally, "when this is over maybe we should do some traveling again. Ephiny is a wonderful leader and will be a great Queen of..."
"Shhhhh." the Warrior Princess hissed quietly as she put her finger over the bards mouth. "Don't say it Gabrielle. Don't even think it. You are Queen and you always will be. I've come to realize over the last two years that this is your destiny beloved. This is where you can do the most good. I know how important that is to you. You are going to become the greatest Queen of the Amazons. I'll never take that away from you Gabrielle, no one will, ever.''
The bard looked at her mate with glistening eyes and then laid back on the bed pulling Xena down on top of her. Their noses touching she softly stroked the Warrior Princess' cheek.
"I love you Great Lion of Amphipolis" she whispered.
"I love you Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazon Nation."
"There are five veteran Carthiginian phalanx's in Vonitsa" Keola said. "As of four days ago they had a strength of two thousand four hundred and eighty present for duty."
"And how do you know this?" Ephiny asked, sceptical about how she could come up with such a precise number.
"I read their weekly strength report. A Greek scribe is writing out their reports and he uses Greek numbers in the reports" the young Amazon scout replied matter of factly.
Ephiny looked over at Xena and Gabrielle and gave them an amazed little shrug. The three leaders were seated in their chairs in the great Council Hall listening to Keola's report. She had returned only candle marks ago after being gone nine days, taking time only to eat and bathe before coming to the Hall to report. The Amazon leaders could not help but notice the deep black and purple left eye their scout sported.
"There are six mercenary phalanx's," Keola continued. ''Counting tents and campfires I would estimate they number a little less than two thousand total. It's hard to tell for sure, mercenary phalanx's always vary so much in numbers. I also viewed their cavalry doing some drills." The Amazon scouts lip curled with amused contempt. "There are about four hundred of them and they're poorly trained, poorly mounted scum, more a danger to themselves than us.''
"Were you able to find out who their commander is?" Xena asked.
"I'm sorry Warleader,'' the scout answered with an apologetic frown, "I wasn't. There are a lot of rumors about who it might be but he had not arrived yet to take command and I heard a half a dozen possible names. No one I talked to really knew for sure. It is a main topic of conversation in Vonitsa right now." Keola took a breath and looked at Gabrielle. "They will be coming very soon my Queen. The fields around the city are almost completely harvested now and most of the grain is being loaded onto the wagons of the enemy supply train as it's picked. The Carthaginian captains have been ordered to have their phalanx's ready to march on a days notice. I just wish..." Keola hesitated and sighed.
"Continue scout" Ephiny said.
"Well, when I left two days ago there were eight new galleys pulling into the harbor. I was too far away to see who or what was on them and I had already been stopped and questioned by patrols in the city twice that day. They were getting very nervous and suspicious of everthing. I decided I better get out while I could and report what I had. But I sure would like to have known what was on those ships." Keola looked at the Warleader. "If you wish I could start back tonight and find out."
"No Keola," Xena answered. "You've given us an excellent report. Go back to your home village and take three days rest, then report to Princess' Ephiny for further orders."
The scouts eyebrows went up with surprise.
"Warleader, I don't need any rest, I can..."
"Keola!" Ephiny interrupted. "You have your orders. No one is interested in your opinion of them."
Looking very chastened the scout came to attention and made a slight bow. "With your permission?"
"Dismissed." Ephiny nodded.
As the scout turned and left Xena looked at the Amazon Princess and nodded her approval of her choice in scouts. Ephiny smiled and winked.
Two days later Ambassador Hashimi arrived. He handed to Gabrielle, without comment or explanation, a scroll with the seal of the Oliarch of Carthage attached. The bard broke the seal and opened the scroll as Xena and Ephiny watched. After reading she handed the parchment to Xena. It read.
Due to the overriding strategic interests of the Carthaginian people and Empire, it is
demanded that the Amazon Nation come to terms on a mutual defense treaty and that
they aid the Empire in stopping any attempt by any Greek city state or tribe to march troops
across Amazon land. Failure to come to immediate satisfactory terms will be viewed as
a declaration of war.
The next morning, as Hashimi waited outside the Council Hall on his horse with his small escort, Gabrielle gave Lentilia and Willa, who just happened to be in the capitol delivering a readiness report to the Warleader on the Pyra company, a hug.
"Confuse and delay them as long as you can" Gabrielle said. "You have my permission to say anything and promise anything you want. Whatever will buy us time for King Odyseus to complete his landings and come to our aid. One day could make all the difference."
"Can I seduce the Carthaginian commander?" Lentilia smiled. "He might have a thing for older women. You can never tell about men. He might have a mother fixation."
"Whatever works" the bard laughed, then she grabbed Lentilia's hand and squeezed it.
"Please be careful my friend, both of you, I want to see you back here soon."
"Always My Queen, always." the old Chief answered, her eyes shining with genuine affection for the young woman holding her hand.
She then shook arms with Xena and Ephiny and she and Willa went out and mounted their horses and the little troop of Ambassadors started for Vonitsa as the three leaders of the Amazon Nation stood in the dusty road and watched them go.
**********************************************
The sun had barely cleared the horizon as the Lion sat on Argo at the top of the Zama break, quietly dissecting and devouring an orange her father-in-law had thrown her as she was leaving camp. Oranges were her favorite food. She could live on them for days. The high thin vapor of dust on the western horizon she had been observing since first light drew steadily nearer.
She turned in the saddle when she heard the ram horns blare. At the bottom of the ridge the Amazon army had formed by company on the highway. On either side of the road she could see the six double lined squares formed by the tents of each company encampment, a great black dot visible in the center of each square, the black ash of the bonfires of two nights ago. Past the encampments were the corrals holding the horses and oxen of the supply train and then the wagons of the train parked in neat rows on both sides of the road, the wagoneers without tents, sheltering under their wagons so more room was left for supplys. Six wagons were pulled up at the rear of the army, barrells of water and medical supplies in each, to be brought to the top of the ridge for immediate access. Behind the wagons the women who were to act a water bearers and litter carriers for the warriors had formed in a ragged column.
Xena could see the tiny figure of Gabrielle at the head of the army, her bodyguard right behind. She was too far away to hear the shouted orders but she could hear the drums as they began to beat the march step. After a hesitation the companys started forward, the column flexing like a centipede stretching out into motion after a stop to rest. The Lion turned to the warrior standing beside her. The Lt. in charge of the dozen Amazons on picket duty on the ridge.
"Inform the Queen when she arrives that I've gone out to meet the approaching column" she said.
The Lt. came to attention. "Yes Warleader."
The Lion put her heels into Argo's ribs and they headed west down the ridge at a steady trot.
Two leagues from the ridge Xena guided Argo off the road into the high grass and pulled her up to a stop. The head of the Amazon cavalry column began to pass her at a steady, unhurried walk. The horses were covered with sweat and dirt and their heads drooped with exhaustion. The troopers riding them looked the same. Half a dozen warriors rode double, two because their mounts were dead, the other four had bloodsoaked, dirty bandages wrapped around an arm or leg and a friend sitting behind them with an arm around their waists in case they lost consciousness. As they passed, two at a time, their march discipline still firmly intact Xena noted, hardly any of the women looked at the Warleader. They stared straight ahead with black, hollow eyes. Weary, angry, disheartened eyes. As the last pair went by the Warrior Princess looked down the road, through the cloud of dust, for Daria and Ephiny. At last through the mist of earth the Princess appeared on her black stallion. The horse looked more grayish brown with its coat of dirt however and so did Ephiny. Her left arm near the shoulder was wrapped with a crude dressing. A large spot of black dried blood stained the bandage and little riverlets of dried blood ran down her arm. As she pulled her mount up beside Xena the Lion handed her a full waterskin. She painfully pulled off her helmet with her left hand and hung it on her saddlehorn. She put the skin up to her mouth and took a long drink then poured the cool water over her head and face until every drop was gone. The soil ran down her neck in little muddy rivers till at last her tan face reappeared. She handed the skin back to Xena and shook her head, water flying, and rubbed her bloodshot, stinging eyes. She let out an exhausted sigh.
"Thank you Xena," she said. "I truly needed that."
The Lion nodded and hung the skin back on her saddlehorn.
"Report Ephiny," she said quietly.
The Princess looked at her commander with disgust and anger in her eyes.
"The bastards stole a march on us Xena" she spit. "We never made it to the Isoles to contest the ford there. We were about seven leagues from the river when we ran into their cavalry, three hundred and fifty or so." Ephiny's lips curled with contempt. ''Keola was right, a poorly mounted, poorly armed, poorly led rabble. We formed column and charged. They scattered like geese before the fox. We killed a dozen and captured three. That's the last we've seen of their cavalry." The Princess rubbed her sore eyes again. "Two leagues down the road we came on the main army. At the front of the column was a company of archers."
Ephiny reached down and pulled the feathered half of an arrow from the strap that held her shin guard and handed it to Xena. The Lion looked at it a moment and then at the Princess.
"Baleric bowmen" she said matter of factly.
Ephiny nodded. "It must have been their ships Keola saw in the harbor the day she left. Best damn archers in the world. There's about four hundred and fifty, five hundred of them. They were scattered in companies of fifty up and down the line. In this flat country they could see us coming two leagues away. Wherever we attacked along the column a couple of companies would be waiting. On these horses we were just big targets. They could hardly miss. We could never get close enough to force the infantry to halt and face us. They just kept marching. We tried to attack four different times yesterday and never stopped them once. Finally I seriously considered digging in across the road and forcing them to destroy us."
Ephiny looked down a moment, then up, searching the Lion's eyes for understanding.
"Xena, they're our best warriors,'' she said, almost imploring. "There was no guarantee we would buy enough time to make a difference. To lose them all for nothing, I just couldn't do it."
The Lion's face was an iron mask, her blue eyes intense but emotionless. Ephiny could guess at nothing of the thoughts behind those eyes. She let out a short hard breath.
"Anyway, the last two nights we've been harrassing tartarus out of them. Prowling around making noise, killing some of their picketts, keeping them as awake and nervous as possible. But Xena," Ephiny looked down the road, the dust from the Amazon cavalry had settled now and the dust of the approaching enemy was clearly visible, in fact the Princess thought she could see the first glints of sunlight on armor through the haze, "they're only two leagues behind us. At the rate they're marching they'll be to the ridge by early afternoon. They could attack today if they want. Are the Ithacans here?"
"No" the Warrior Princess said calmly. "We've had no word of them since you left two days ago. I don't know when they'll be here."
Ephiny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For a moment there was that trembling feeling of panic in her stomach. But when she opened her eyes the Lion was watching her with such complete, impassive, iron self control that it was impossible not to feel her strength. It radiated from Xena like light from the sun. The trembling moment faded quickly away.
"You said you had prisoners?" the Lion asked. "I didn't see any."
Ephiny's eyes hardened.
"I had no warriors to waste guarding prisoners," she said coldly. "After interrogation they had an unfortunate accident. Their heads fell off their shoulders when I passed my blade through their necks. We couldn't figure out how to fix them so we left them in the road for their friends to find. Maybe they'll have better luck."
"Did they have anything of interest to say?" the Lion asked, showing no reaction at all to Ephinys words.
"No." the Princess shrugged. "They were just ignorant mercenary scum out to kill a few strangers to put dinars in their pockets. Except for one thing. We now know who the Carthiginian commander is. A Roman mercenary named Publius Varras. He arrived from Egypt six days ago with two Lts. to take command. Have you heard of him?"
Xena made a face like she had bit into something sour. She turned her head and spit.
"Yes, I've heard of him" she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "He's from a noble patrician family who was a rising star in the legions till he picked the wrong side in the civil war between Ceasar and Pompey. He commanded the left wing of the warlord Parmenon at the battle of Lexus eight years ago. I smashed the right wing and killed Parmenon and thought I would destroy the whole army but Varrus led his men with skill and courage and got them off the field in one piece. A few months later I invited him to my camp and tried to recruit him as my top Lt. Good commanders are hard to find. He declined. He said he was done being anyone's Lt. He's built quite a reputation as a general for hire. He's already started well in this campaign. He won't make any mistakes." Xena paused and her eyes were dark. "But I'll tell you something Ephiny, as a human being he's a loathsome pig."
After a few moments of silence the Lion turned in the saddle and looked at the receding line of Amazon cavalry.
"I'm going to need your warriors to rejoin their village companys in the line after they wash and eat. Not much time to rest I'm afraid" she said. "What were your casualties?"
"Seven horses killed," Ephiny answered tonelessly, like she were reading from a list. "Many warriors with minor injuries, four with serious wounds and..." the Princess stopped. Xena turned back to look at her. Ephiny shook her head and her jaw worked like she was trying to get words out of her mouth but they would not come. Finally she took a breath. "and I lost Daria. During the third attack yesterday. She ran into a flight of arrows, because she was too far out in front!" Ephiny said the last words loudly and angrily, like Daria was in front of her and she was dressing her down for her mistake. Then she sighed. "Horse and rider were both killed. I didn't try to recover her. The horses were too worn out as it was to risk anyone's life hauling a dead body around, although I had no shortage of volunteers who would have tried to retrieve her."
"You don't have to explain a decision like that to me" Xena said.
Ephiny looked at her Warleader. "I know," she said quietly. "I guess I'm still trying to explain it to myself. Daria had a mate and a child. Now they will have no body to cremate. No ashes to sprinkle over the sacred fire in the temple of her village. No urn to place over the door so Daria can watch over her loved ones as they grow. Sometimes..." Ephinys voice trailed off.
"I know." the Lion said. "Sometimes you make all the right decisions and still your people are dead and everything is wrong. War does that to you Princess."
"How... how do you live with that Xena?" Ephiny asked, her eyes imploring the Warleader for some magic word or thought that would take away the pain she was feeling right now.
"I'll tell you an ugly thing Princess" the Lion answered in a low growl, her face becoming dark, her eyes seeming to change their color to black right before Ephinys astonished gaze. "I have no trouble living with it." Xena looked back at her warriors, their tiny figures forming a battleline on the ridge, then at the approaching army of Carthaginians and finally back at her cavalry commander. "I love all this Ephiny. I love it more than my life. I only pray I don't love it more than I love Gabrielle." Xena pulled Argo around. "Now let's get back. We have things to do."
As the two leaders reached the bottom of the long slope up to the top of the ridge Xena watched as a rider was let through the human wall of the Amazon battleline that now was formed from treeline to treeline across the Zama break. Xena studied the figure for a moment as it approached then she turned to Ephiny.
"That's the King" she said, her voice calm but a slight smile crossing her face. "Come on."
She put her heals into Argo and Ephiny did likewise with her stallion and quickly the three leaders met halfway up the ridge. The King, a magnificent horseman on a large gray warhorse, was wearing a silver helmet and intricately embossed silver breastplate and silver grieves over his shins, he had no sword but a mace with a heavy metal head and finely carved hard oak handle dangled from a loop on the back of his saddle. As the man brought his mount to a stop between Xena and Ephiny the Warrior Princess could see in her friends face that he was tired but the eyes were sparkling and intelligent as always and obviously glad to see her.
"Odyseus," Xena smiled broadly as she took his offered arm and squeezed it hard, ''you are a welcome sight. I think you're getting better looking in your old age."
"You don't have to fawn over me now Xena, I'm here" the King smiled back. "But if you want to go ahead."
The two friends laughed and for a moment just enjoyed the sight of each other, then Xena looked over at Ephiny and the man followed her gaze.
"This is Princess Ephiny,'' Xena said with a nod. "Heir to the Amazon throne and my second in command. Princess, this is Odyseus, King of Ithaca."
The King offered his arm to Ephiny. After a slight hesitation she took it. Despite her exhaustion she felt a tremor of giddyness. She was clasping arms with the only living person in Greece whose legend could rival Xena's. The Conqueror of Troy, of the Cyclops, the man who faced thirty warriors in his reception hall alone and killed them all. She had heard all the stories of his twenty year odyssey from Ithaca to Troy and back and now those black, intense, captivating eyes were boring into her as she shook his arm.
"It's a great honor to meet you King Odyseus" she said.
"The pleasure is mine beautiful Princess" the King replied as he glanced at Ephinys right shoulder.
"Xena,'' he said without looking at her or releasing Ephiny's arm. "No tattoo. Do you think my chances are any better?"
The Lion shook her head and smirked.
"I never interfere in the personal lives of my friends" she said with a smile.
"Ahhh, you must be a very impressive woman" Odyseus rumbled in his deep voice as his hand slid down Ephinys arm till it gently grasped hers, "for the Great Lion to call you friend. It's a title worthy of attaining." The King brought Ephinys hand up and kissed it. "I hope at a better time that we might meet and talk of the pleasures of friendship."
Ephiny felt her face grow hot. The mans charisma was as powerful as Xena's, but different. Hers was dark and intimidating, a person you could not take your eyes off of but always from the safety of a distance. Odyseus' was inviting, a man whose friend you desperately wanted to be. The Princess prayed she was not blushing.
"In better times perhaps we might." Ephiny replied, suppressing the stupidist desire to giggle.
Odyseus' perfect white teeth appeared through the salt of his beard. "I hope that time is soon Princess." He released her hand. "But now more pressing business confronts us I'm afraid."
The King looked out at the approaching cloud of dust for a few moments, judging the situation.
"Today?" he asked.
Xena let out a little burst of air. "Late this afternoon most likely. He hasn't been force marching this hard to waste all afternoon sitting on his ass at the bottom of the ridge doing nothing."
"Do you know who it is?" the King asked
"Publius Varrus."
The King grimaced and he turned his head and spit. "Varrus." He said the word like it was a curse.
Odyseus leaned back in his saddle and sighed.
"I don't bring good news Xena" his gaze shifted to his friend. "You know that narrow point on the trail where it bends around the mountain over the river."
The Lion nodded.
"It collapsed yersterday as we marched. I lost two men drowned in the river and it took my engineers all afternoon into the night to shore it up. Telemechus won't be here with the army till after moonrise tonight." The King blew air out through his teeth. "If Varrus attacks this afternoon you'll face him alone Xena. Perhaps Great Lion we took too long a chance this time. I'm sorry."
The Lion's face showed no emotion. She looked back to the west and then at Odyseus.
"I'm not done yet my friend" she said quietly. "You forget, the Lion always wins, one way or another." She looked at Ephiny. "Princess, I'm calling an officers meeting at the command tent. We have decisions to make and I want it done without the army watching our every move. Assign some troopers to round up the Chiefs and first Lt's. and bring them to the tent. Do it as quickly as possible. I'll bring Gabrielle myself and meet you there soon. Understood."
Ephiny nodded. "A great pleasure King Odyseus" she said and she sank her heals into her mount and galloped up the ridge.
Odyseus watched her go then turned to Xena. "A beautiful and charming woman." he said. "Do you think I'm too old ?"
"Of course you're too old you old goat" she said with a frown. Then she smiled. "That's not going to stop you though is it?"
The mans eyes sparkled. "Nope." Then his face turned serious. "Do you have any ideas Lion?"
Xena's face became dark. "I always have ideas, some better than others." She looked at her friend. "You'll be there to see how they come out won't you?"
"I haven't been in a real battle Xena since I cleaned those leaches out of my house thirteen years ago" Odyseus answered. Then a wolfish, predator smile spread across his face. "I wouldn't miss this one for the world."
The smile on Xena's face matched the Kings. "It should be one to remember my friend."
For a moment there was a charged silence as two predators shared the anticipation of the coming fight. Then Xena said quietly, "Come on, I want you with me at the officers call." and the two legends of Greece rode side by side up the slope.
Ephiny came out of the command tent sucking on an orange she had found on a table as Xena, Gabrielle and Odyseus rode up.
"Sister" the bard called with relief as she jumped down from behind Xena and rushed over to the Princess and hugged her. When she stepped back she frowned as she examined the dirty, bloody length of cloth still wrapped around Ephinys arm. She started to touch it but the Princess pulled her arm away.
"That's nothing" Ephiny said, annoyed. "Don't worry about it Gabrielle."
"I'm Queen here Sister," the bard answered sharply grabbing Ephinys arm. "I decide what's nothing and what's not. Tia!"
The young aid appeared instantly from inside the tent.
"Water and a clean bandage, hurry" the Queen commanded.
Xena and Odyseus joined the sisters.
"Have you explained the situation to the Queen?" Ephiny asked Xena.
"Yes, I know everything" Gabrielle answered for her mate. "What do you think Sister?"
"You know what I think Gabrielle" Ephiny replied, her brown eyes intense. "We fight. This is our land, our Nation. We don't give it up without a fight."
Tia came out of the tent with a clay bowl of water and several clean strips of cloth over her arm. Gabrielle took a cloth and soaked it with water and began daubing it over the bandage to loosen it. Ephiny ignored the whole process, focusing on the riders that were arriving with the Chiefs of the six villages and their second in commands. When all had gathered Xena made a quick introduction of the King. The wide eyes he saw comfirmed that his fame had proceeded him. She then explained why she had called them together.
Gabrielle finished soaking the bandage. She took the knife from Ephinys belt and cut it, then whispered "this will hurt."
"More than likely" the Princess answered.
The bard ripped the bandage with a hard jerk from Ephinys arm. The Princess registered no reaction. The ugly slice from an arrow began to bleed. Gabrielle massaged the wound to be sure the flowing blood removed all the dirt. Then she quickly daubed it with the rag and expertly wrapped and tied the new clean dressing over the wound. After a moment the bleeding stopped. Sister moved her arm around in a small circle.
"You do that well Gabrielle" Ephiny said with a small smile of appreciation.
"To much practice" the bard answered. "Now let's go see what the leaders of the Nation have to say about our situation."
The Chief's and their Lt's. had gathered in a semicircle in the open space beside the command tent. Unconsciously arranging themselves exactly as they did in the Council Hall. Gabrielle took her accustomed position at the bottom of the half circle with Xena and Ephiny at her sides. Odyseus stood a few paces behind the Lion, close enough to hear but not be a part of the deliberations.
Most of the Chiefs quickly made their feelings known that they were ready to fight. Murise loudest of all. The Chief of Trikkala insisting there was no other choice but to fight, whatever the odds. However Chief Nita, always cautious and level headed, supported by Ashita, was not so enthusiastic.
"There's still time to throw up a barricade" she said pointedly. "We can still force them to go south and that would give us time to evacuate the valley. Perhaps we could concentrate on defending the west side of the ford till the Athenians arrive. With King Odyseus' help couldn't we make a fight of it there and still be sure our people were safely across the river?"
"No," Xena answered, speaking what she knew the King was thinking. "We can't fight with the river to our backs. If we were defeated it would become an instant slaughter. We can't ask the Ithacans to take such a risk. If we evacuate the valley we'll just have to hope the Athenians and Spartans can force the ford. If not we become landless refugee's and the orphans of Greece. It will be the end of us as a society."
Gabrielle turned to her mate.
"What do you think Warleader?" she asked. "Do we have any reasonable chance of holding the ridge till nightfall? If not then we'll evacuate."
"What??!!" Murise burst out, her face reddening with emotion. Her anger had been growing while Nita had asked her questions but now this was too much.
Gabrielle looked at the Chief of Trikkala and her own cheeks began to color.
"We've heard your opinion Murise," she said sharply, "I'm talking to the Warleader now."
"About what!!" Murise growled. "We're not evacuating anything. No Amazon army has ever retreated in the face of the enemy and we're not giving up our land." The Amazon warrior looked around at her fellow Chiefs. "There's nothing to talk about here!"
The bards face had become scarlette as Murise spoke.
"By the Gods," she yelled. "I'm not going to preside over some mass suicide for the sake of your pride Murise. If we can't win this battle then we're evacuating. I'm Queen here. I make the decisions. Now shut up!!"
With the words 'shut up' a dozen things happened all in the time it takes to blink twice. Chief Murise grabbed the hilt of her sword and started to pull it, her eyes blazing with anger and offended honor. Ephiny stepped in front of Gabrielle, her sword appearing instantly in her hand. Xena pulled her chakram from its hook on her belt, her eyes flashing a cold, merciless blue light. Gabrielle's hand grabbed her mates wrist and at the same instant Circa, Murise's Lt., best friend and sometime lover for twenty years, who had been standing beside the Chief, wrapped her friend in a desperate bearhug to keep her from pulling her sword all the way out. The Lion snapped her wrist down to break the bards grip and she brought her arm up across her chest to fling the chakram with her favorite backhand motion and cut Murise's throat but before she could complete the throw Gabrielle threw herself in front of the Warrior Princess and hugged her tight, pinning her arm to her chest.
"Please Xena please!!" the bard implored in a frightened whisper, looking up at her mate, "please don't do it. I beg you, please don't!"
The Lion let out a breath that was more a low growl, but she could see that Circa, a short powerful, barrel chested woman with tattoo's like her friends down both arms, had Murise under control for the moment. Her immediate instinct to kill passed. She relaxed enough that Gabrielle loosened her grip. Still the violence of the moment hung like electricity in the charged air. Murise's fierce eyes were fixed on Gabrielle, a panther ready to spring. Circa looked around desperately at the other Amazon warriors. They had all backed away from Murise and several had their weapons in their hands. It was obvious to the Lt. from Trikkala that her Chief had no supporters in this act of rebellion. Her friends life was forfiet at any moment if she could not think of something to save her. But how?
"The Chief of Trikkala" a deep voice rumbled, "has lost her composure in this stressful moment in the history of her people. I'm sure she deeply regrets her actions now that she has had a moment to think." Odyseus was standing by Gabrielle, a small dagger in his hand, his body, along with Ephinys, between Murise and the Queen. "The mercy and compassion of the great Queen of the Amazons is well known to all." The King looked directly at Circa as he said this.
The Lt. took a sudden breath, then she threw herself down on both knees, her head bowed so low her chin almost touched her chest.
"Queen Gabrielle" Circa began in a pleading supplicants voice, "my Chief has acted inexcuseably and deserves the harshest punishment. If you order it I will execute her myself. But in the name of all the people of Trikkala I beg you to consider mercy for Chief Murise. She has been a good and loyal Amazon Chief for many years and I pray that this one moment of rash temper can be forgiven by a Queen whose greatness is measured as much by the compassion of her heart as it is by the
wisdom of her decisions. I know that Chief Murise regrets her action and asks mercy as well."
Murise sucked in a slow breath and looked each of her fellow Chiefs in the eye. She finally understood, she was alone. She slowly, painfully lowered her head.
"I ask the Queen's mercy" she whispered hoarsly.
The bard sighed with relief. She had been praying furiously to Artemis for some way out of this mess without anyone dying. However reluctantly Murise was giving her the way and she gratefully took it.
"The Chief has acted most rashly," Gabrielle said, her voice controlled and commanding. "But these are stressful times and they can cause rash actions. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided now my Chiefs. Too much depends on us." The bard looked at Murise. "I grant the Chief of Trikkala mercy but also I warn her that my mercy has a limit. It will not be extended again."
Murise made a slight, ungrateful bow of acceptance. With a deep sigh of thankfulness Circa got up and stood again by her friend and Chief.
"Now,'' Gabrielle said forcefully, "we still have not heard from the Warleader. Xena, what is your judgement on our chances of holding the ridge?"
The Chiefs and Lt.s moved back into their semicircle as Odyseus took a few steps back and Xena took a step forward so all could see and hear her. She took a moment to calm her temper and collect her thoughts as she re-hooked her chakram, while every eye followed her expectantly. She took a deep breath.
"Do I think we can hold till dark?" she said slowly, letting her intense eyes meet the eyes of everyone in her audience. "Yes!!" she yelled the word. "We will because we must! Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans died at Thermopoly to their everlasting glory, but they lost. The Theban Sacred Band fought to the last man at Platae and their courage will live for eternity in our legends but they lost too. The Lion has no interest in being remembered by history as a glorious loser. I intend to survive this day with the blood of my enemies on my blade. Not mine on theirs. They've been marching three days. They've gotten little sleep thanks to Princess Ephiny and her cavalry. They intend to attack without rest and half of them are mercenarys who never fight to the death if they can help it. Corpses don't collect any pay. We on the other hand are fresh and rested and fighting for our homes and loved ones. The greatest weapon on any battlefield is the will of the warrior to fight. That will belongs to us." Xena unhooked her chakram and raised it over her head. "The Lion always wins" she growled. "The Warleader says....FIGHT!!! YIYIYIYIYIY!!!"
As Xena howled her warcry the Chiefs and warriors of the nation, whose eyes had grown hotter and more focused with each word she spoke, joined with their own screams for blood. Gabrielle looked at her Chiefs and knew her decision had been made for her. And it occured to her that maybe this decision had been made months ago, by Xena, when she said that the Amazons time on this earth had not yet ended. The will of the Lion was that Gabrielle would always have her throne. It was her place in the world.
'It is Xena's gift to me. The Lion's will that I keep my place' the bard thought. She looked up at the ridge where she could see the tiny figure's of the women of the Amazon Nation kneeling in their battleline waiting for the enemy. 'But is it worth the price beloved. Is Gabrielle's place in the world worth this? Oh Artemis, if we are doomed to lose this battle, let the first death be mine. If I can't lead the people well in life let me lead them in death.'
Gabrielle walked over to her mate and put her arm around her waist and raised her arm and joined the wild crys for war.
************************************************
"Your orders are simple," Xena said as she looked with intense blue eyes around the half circle of Chiefs and Lt's. "maintain your battleline at all costs. You are not to advance or retreat without a direct order from me, Princess Ephiny or," Xena paused and looked back at King Odyseus, he made a questioning face, "the King of Ithaca, if he will accept the position of commander of the left three companies of our army, with the Queens permission of course."
Gabrielle glanced at Xena then looked at Odyseus and smiled. "It would be a great honor for the Nation if the King of Ithaca would fight with us today."
Odyseus took a surprised breath. Then his eyes focused on the bard. He bowed formally from the waist.
"The honor would be all mine to command the brave warriors of the Amazon Nation and serve the great Queen Gabrielle" Odyseus said in his deep voice. "I humbly accept her generous offer."
"Excellent" the Lion said with obvious satisfaction. She turned back to the Chiefs. "The Princess will command the right three companies. Remember, you don't move from your line without a direct order from one of us. Maintain the battleline no matter what. Understood?"
The Amazon Chiefs nodded or said "understood."
"Then back to your companies" the Lion commanded. "Prepare them for what's coming. Go"
The Warriors broke up and hurried to the horses and troopers who had been waiting in a group some yards away to transport them back to top of the ridge. Ephiny and Odyseus walked to their horses tied to the oak beside the command tent. The Warrior Princess let out a whistle then shouted "Argo!". The great warhorse looked up from her grazing a hundred yards away and broke into a gallop to answer her mistresses call. When the Palimino arrived Xena adjusted her saddle then turned to help Gabrielle up, but the bard stood motionless staring at her mate. The Lion looked back with a question in her eyes, but the question quickly disappeared as she was engulfed in those green sparkling emeralds. She brought her hand up and carressed her mates cheek. Gabrielle put her fingers around Xena's wrist and turned her face into Xena's hand and kissed the palm.
"Beloved, "the bard whispered. "We may not have another chance today." She looked into Xena's soft blue eyes. ''I want to tell you that I love you Xena. You are the stars and the moon and the sun and the sky to me. You make my life worth living."
"Gabrielle'' Xena whispered back as her hand moved slowly over the bards face, feeling the cool softness of her skin. "My life belongs to you. You'll never know how much pleasure it gives me to say that." The Lion brought her face close and she kissed her mate deeply and tenderly. "I love you." she said as she kissed.
Ephiny watched her sisters kiss for a moment then looked over at Odyseus. The King was looking at his two friends with a sadness in his black eyes the Princess could not miss. Then those dark eyes shifted to Ephiny. After a moment they brightened and his perfect teeth appeared in the middle of his beard.
"So when shall we take that dinner that you promised me?" he boomed.
"Well uh," the Princess said hesitantly. "I don't believe I promised you dinner. I think I said we might have dinner."
"Come come.'' the King frowned. "You are an Amazon warrior. A woman of honor. You wouldn't go back on your word."
"I uh." Ephiny shifted in her saddle. "I believe sir you are trying to take some advantage of me."
Odyseus' frown became a thunderstorm on his face. "Princess," he rumbled. "I am a King and a gentleman. I have never taken advantage of any woman."
Ephiny bit her lip nervously, unsure if she had truly offended Odyseus or not. Then the teeth appeared again in the beard.
"However a few women have taken advantage of me." The King reached out and took Ephinys hand. His eyes bored deep into hers. "Come friend of the Great Lion. You impress me as a woman of strength and intelligence. The greatest qualities any woman can have. Give an old man something to look forward too after the trials and labors of this day are done. Tell me you will sit at table with me so we can share the pleasure of discovering each other?"
"Well uh, yes," Ephiny said finally with a slight smile. "I accept your invitation to dinner."
Odyseus raised the Princess' hand and kissed it. His eyes sparkled and his face beamed. "I look forward to it with the greatest anticipation." he smiled. Then he looked at Xena and Gabrielle who were mounted on Argo watching them. He looked back at Ephiny with a serious face. "I think the day awaits us Ephiny, may Apollo shield you from your enemies."
"May Artimus put her arm around your shoulders today King Odyseus" Ephiny answered and together they joined the two mates in galloping up Corinth highway to the ridge.
*************************************************
The King walked behind the battleline of his three companies, straightening, adjusting, learning the names of his officers as he went, his alert mind having no trouble remembering them once introduced. Ephiny did the same at her end of the line, checking equipment and alignment.
The Lion rode along on Argo reminding her warriors in a loud voice of the battle techniques they had been practicing for weeks.
"First line" she bellowed. "Stay low with your shields. Force the pikes up when they hit. Take away their momentum. Second line. Keep the gaps covered. Don't let the pikes penetrate. Third line. Use your shoulders in your shields. Help the warriors in front of you stay on their feet at impact. Be ready to step into any gaps if someone goes down. Keep your heads up and your eyes open. Use your brains. You know what to do. Do it!!"
Xena spotted Cassandra talking to two of her litter bearers and rode quickly up to her.
"Cassandra," the old warrior came to attention, "fear and effort produce a terrible thirst. I want you to personally go up and down the entire line checking that every warrior has a full waterskin. Do it now."
"Yes Warleader."
Xena put her heels to Argo and they trotted further along the line, the Warrior Princess glancing over her warriors at the Carthaginians at the bottom of the ridge. Their battle phalanx was slowly taking shape as units turned left and right off the road and marched parallel to the Amazon position, their line beginning to match their enemies in length. Suddenly the Lion spotted a familiar figure ahead, one she did not want to see.
"Herodotus," she barked as the old farmer turned from the battleline, his buckets empty from filling waterskins, "what are you doing here?"
"Following that old crow's orders" he said calmly. ''Just like you told me too. I have the best team of horses here and she wanted to use my wagon to haul water. I go where my wagon goes."
Xena pulled Argo up beside her father-in-law.
"Dammit, I didn't want you here" she said with disgust, looking down at him. "Only trained warriors should be here." Her eyes stared intensly at him. "When the battle starts old man I want you back at your wagon. I don't want to see you near this battleline. If I do I'll knock you out myself and have you dragged back. Your lack of training might get one of my people hurt. I won't tolerate that, understood."
Herodotus looked up at those eyes that were blazing and yet cold and nodded. "Understood" he said quietly. Then he put down his two buckets and put his arm slowly up to Xena. As he looked at her a little chill went down his spine. It was Xena he saw and yet it was someone unknown as well. She seemed bigger, as if she had expanded with the responsibility and pressure that was on her shoulders. Her voice, her movements, everything about her seemed exaggerated. There was an aura of power and energy around her that was palpable, almost visible. As the Lion grasped his arm the hair on the old farmers body stood up from the electricity that crackled around her.
"Good luck today daughter" he said, looking her in the eyes.
The Lion grinned her wolfish grin. "To Tarturus with luck old man" she said. ''We don't need any damn luck. We're better than them. And I'm better at this than him. Don't you know Herodotus," Xena released his arm and straightened and winked. "The Lion always wins. And I'm the Lion."
Herodotus shook his head and smiled at his daughter-in-law. 'How can we lose' he thought. 'Xena will never allow it. She is the Lion.' The old man picked up his buckets as the Warrior Princess rode away down the line. "What a remarkable person my Gabrielle is, that a woman like that would love her above all else" he said to himself. "May the Gods protect my children today." He looked around at all the young warriors preparing themselves for the test that was coming. "May they protect all these children."
Xena looked out over her battleline at the enemy and noticed three riders slowly walking up the Corinth highway toward the top of the ridge. She stopped Argo and studied them. The polished armour and tall plumes of rank on their helmets said they were not scouts. As they steadily approached it became obvious that they intended to initiate some sort of meeting.
"Make a space," Xena commanded quietly.
Warriors crowded together enough to allow Argo passage through the line. The Lion let the great warhorse amble over to the highway and then down it toward the approaching officers. As the distance closed Xena finally recognized the man leading the way. Varrus. Her eyes narrowed at the sight. Suddenly there was the sound of galloping hoofs behind her and then Ephiny pulled her black up beside her.
"You weren't thinking of having this meeting alone were you?'' the Princess asked.
"Guess not" the Lion answered with a slight smile. Then she growled, "that's Varrus."
Ephiny squinted through the lowering afternoon sun at the man. Erect and broadshouldered, he sat his big bay warhorse like a born horseman. The reins in his right hand and his left fist resting on his hip with his elbow out, his head back and cocked slightly to one side, he was the picture of arrogant Roman aristocracy. An aquiline nose dominated his face, along with a seemingly permanent sneering curl in his thin lips. A patrician barely able to tolerate the lesser mortals that he was forced to deal with. His eyes were gray and along with his curved nose he had the appearance of an eagle ready to strike. An aid rode at either side of him. The one on the left was large and round and older, with gray in his dark brown beard. The one on the right was young and cleanshaven and had a nervous twitching of the eyes and head and a sharp face like a ferret.
When the riders were a few yards apart, about a hundred yards from the Amazon battleline, they stopped and eyed each other for a moment.
"Hello Xena," Varrus said in a high cutting voice. "It's been eight years since we met last."
"Yep,'' the Lion answered. "Have you been counting the days? I haven't."
The Romans eyes narrowed as he stared into Xena's. The Lion stared back, unblinking.
"I'm here at the order of the Oliarch of Carthage" he said evenly. "I'm to offer you one last chance to sign a treaty before it's too late and we are forced to attack."
Xena snorted in her throat.
"Sending back the heads of our ambassadors was an interesting way for the Oliarch to start negotiations" she said.
"Well," Varrus said with a slight smile, "the Oliarch doesn't exactly know about that. That was a little message of my own Xena. I wanted to be sure you didn't have a change of heart and decide to surrender after all." The smile turned to a sneer. "The old one died well. But the younger one, she put up a fight. I think she was afraid. It took three men to hold her. Fear will make you strong like that."
The color rose in Ephiny's face but otherwise she showed no reaction. Xena's iron mask did not change.
"I hear you've married the Queen of the Amazons" Varrus continued as his horse nervously pawed the ground. "You must be getting soft Xena. The Lion I knew would have slit her throat in the night by now and made herself Queen."
The Warrior Princess rested her hands on her saddle horn, her eyes never leaving the Romans. '' I found a person stronger than me Varrus. A little piece of advice, one warrior to another, always make people stronger than you an ally, not an enemy."
Varrus' eyes narrowed even more. For a moment his gaze shifted to the Amazon battleline, then back to Xena. "It's been ten years since the last Centaur war Xena. Most of those bitches up there have never been in battle. They're virgins to the art to war." The Roman sneered again. "Well, my Carthiginian veterans will show them the in and out of it soon enough."
The young aide beside Varrus grinned and gave a little chuckle in his throat.
"Tell your monkey," Xena said evenly, her eyes rivited on Varrus ''to take that monkey grin off his face or I'll take it off for him."
The young man's face clouded with shocked anger and he reached for his sword but Varrus grabbed his arm. "Don't be a fool." he hissed.
It was Xena's turn to curl her lip in a sneer.
"I'm surprised you took this job Varrus" she said. "The Amazons are all women, no little boys for you to abuse." Her face turned to pure contempt. "I still remember that slave boy you brought to my camp. How old was he, seven, eight? I asked him how he could stand being used by a grown man like you. He explained it to me."
Xena raised one hand off her saddle horn with the little finger extended. Princess Ephiny turned her head in disgust and spit.
The Romans face reddened slightly.
"Both of you get back to your commands" he said out of the side of his mouth.
Varrus' two aides turned their horses and trotted off.
"Go on back Princess" Xena said quietly.
"Xena."
"Go on Ephiny, I'll be there shortly"
The Amazon warrior reluctantly pulled her horses' head around and headed back to her battleline. When she was gone Varrus shifted and straightened in his saddle.
"I hear you killed Parmenon and his three aides yourself?" he said.
The Lion nodded.
"One of those aides was my younger brother."
Xena snorted. "Is that what this is all about? How pathetic. I thought you were more professional than to hold a grudge over something like that. My low opinion of you just got lower."
"No Xena, I don't care anything about Graccus. He was never anything but a burden to me. You did me a favor that day. No Lion, the thing that sticks in my craw about Lexus is that's the only battle I've ever lost. It's the blemish on an otherwise spotless record. I've waited eight years to remove that stain. Now the day is here." The Romans face became an ugly scowl. "When your bitches start to run and the slaughter begins, I'm going to come looking for you Xena. Don't make me look too hard."
"I'll make it easy for you Varrus" the Lion growled. "I'll find you."
The Roman nodded. Then he pulled on the reins of his mount and the horse backed straight back so Varrus could keep his eyes on Xena. After a dozen yards he let the horse turn.
"Varrus!" Xena roared.
The Roman turned his head toward her.
"Something for you to think about" Xena yanked on Argos reins and pulled her sword. "The Lion always wins, and I'm the Lion!"
The great warhorse reared high up on her back legs and pawed the air as Xena waved her sword. Then turning the horse she took off at a breakneck gallop to the north end of her battleline. Her warriors watched in awe as she spun Argo in a tight circle at the end of the line then galloped along in front of it screaming her warcry and waving her sword. The warriors of the Nation answered her in full throat, waving their own swords and banging on their shields with them. At the south end of the line the Lion again whirled Argo around as Ephiny, who was watching from behind the line on her horse, marveled at the horsemanship of it, and she raced back to the center of the line, pulling Argo up in a spray of dirt and grass. She stood up in her stirups and waved her sword, screaming her warcry. In front of her, half a league away, the drums sounded the march step and the first phalanx of the Carthaginian army started up the slope, a moving wall of pikes headed straight for her.
The end of part one. The Will of the Lion.