04 Healing - An Awakening - Part 4
Ms. Hunter Ash
ripperbard7@yahoo.com
frost29@post.com
Disclaimers: the usual rundown - I don’t own Xena, Gabrielle, Argo or Gabrielle’s family. This story is written for entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement is intended. Don’t bother suing me - it really wouldn’t be worth it.
Violence: light to none actually.
Sex/Alt Fiction/Subtext: Nope, no subtext - it’s right out there. Two of the characters are in a loving and sexual relationship of the same gender.
Rating: R
A hurt and comfort beginning. Gabrielle is recovering from being poisoned at her wedding to Xena then things get complicated after Xena drinks some special wine from a God.
Joxer alert: sort of.
# # # #
Xena was pacing back in forth in the cave when Ares suddenly appeared.
“Where have you been?” she demanded, grabbing him in a kiss.
“Had some business to take care of,” he grinned.
“Now, what’s the plan to get my career back on track?” Xena asked.
“First, we eliminate the power of that little irritant out of your life and then you take Draco’s army from him.”
“Why bother with the woman? I’ve got my mind right again.” Xena questioned with a frown.
“Because she has been influenced by the gods, they could use her again to trick you. We get rid of her and no one can stand in your way again,” he pulled out of her embrace and walked to the entrance of the cave, peering through the waterfall. “Besides, it’ll help your reputation.”
“What about my reputation?” Xena demanded. Ares could feel her moving up behind him, he could feel her dangerous energy but remained with his back to her.
“You’re the laughing stock of Greece, Rome and several other countries as well,” he said simply.
“What!? I am the most feared warrior in this part of the world!” Xena yelled.
“Not anymore, babe. You fell for a bard, left your warrior ways and married her, becoming a simple consort to the Queen of the Amazons.”
Ares turned in time to see Xena’s face go pale and then red with rage.
“Married a bard? I was willing to be a consort and not the Conqueror?” she whispered in disbelief.
“Yup. You have no title, warrior, other than Consort to a small woman,” Ares pushed verbally.
“I couldn’t marry anyone!” the warrior protested.
“You did, even Caesar laughed at that one.”
“Caesar?” the warrior whispered. Ares disappeared in a flash of light as the warrior lost her final control and went into a berserk fury.
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It was a couple of hours before the War God approached the cave again. He was delighted with himself. He had Xena back, she would get rid of her last tie to the path she had been on and she would be his totally and forever. Maybe they would even challenge Athena to her title of War Goddess, he thought with a grin. Not only that, he grinned even wider, she was still a tiger in bed. Gods, even he couldn’t’ keep up with her. For a moment the War God wondered how the little frustrating bard could. Then he shook his head.
He found the warrior tired but still angry, just the way he liked her.
“Once I kill her we get back to business?” Xena demanded.
“You bet. You and me and the world for our taking,” Ares promised.
“Where is she?”
“Let’s go.”
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Gabrielle sat up wincing as a familiar figure burst into the hut and into her arms.
“Lila? What on earth?” she asked as her young sister burst into tears. Gabrielle wasn’t surprised when Ephiny and Solari followed behind the teenager.
“She came riding in here at full speed on Argo,” Ephiny explained all she knew.
“Argo? Lila, talk to me, what’s wrong? Where’s Xena?”
Everyone was wondering that one, for Argo to let anyone ride her except Xena or Gabrielle would be amazing.
The teen attempted to slow her tears down. She pulled back in the embrace and looked at her older sister and Gabrielle was shocked. The dark haired teenager looked like she had been through a whirlpool, twice. Her hair was disheveled, face covered with road grime and she looked exhausted.
“Solari, get some water and some food. Now, Lila, take a deep breath and tell me what happened,” Gabrielle ordered.
“I, .... we were on the way back home after leaving Cyrene when we ran into someone named Joxer,” Lila began.
“That would ruin my day,” Ephiny muttered and Gabrielle glared at her with a grin.
“Xena knew him and introduced us. He suggested they stop at a shrine on their way back here to celebrate your wedding,” Lila continued.
“He knew about the wedding?” Gabrielle frowned.
“Yes, I heard him tell Xena that he heard the Queen of the Amazons got married, knew it was you and that the only one you’d turn to would be Xena.”
“Go on,” the bard encouraged.
“Something wasn’t right!” Lila wailed, pulling at the hem of her tunic in nervousness. “Xena was jumpy as a cat and didn’t sleep well. She kept looking around like she was expecting an attack or something. I thought it was Joxer. He made my skin crawl.”
“Joxer? He’s about as dangerous as rabbit,” Ephiny complained.
“I know, he seemed such an idiot but something wasn’t right about him. After we got home I talked with Mom and she had the same feeling. She let me follow them,” Lila whispered.
Gabrielle was stunned. Hecuba? Her mother let Lila follow Xena when it might be dangerous? Wow.
“What happened?” Gabrielle urged gently. Solari entered with a tray of food and an Amazon guard entered with fresh water and soap root. “Eat something and tell us between bites,” Gabrielle ordered.
“I followed them. Xena should have heard me! I know that!” Lila looked like she was about to cry again and Gabrielle gathered the younger girl in her arms again.
“She’s right, she should never have gotten near them,” Ephiny agreed.
Gabrielle nodded. “See about some clean clothes for her while Ephiny gets her to eat,” the queen ordered the guard who nodded and was gone.
After a few moments they managed to get Lila seated at the table and eating.
“I found them at a cave behind a waterfall. I saw Xena fall to the ground unconscious and Joxer changed,” she whispered.
“Changed? How?” Ephiny questioned.
“He became someone else,” she whispered, stopping eating with the impact of the memory. “Xena called him Ares.”
Gabrielle surprised her Regent and little sister by swearing a string of curses that would have made a Corinth dockworker proud and then turned to her sister to continue.
“He took her into the cave and I went into the water to listen.”
“What, it’s freezing in the water,” Ephiny was impressed with the teen’s courage and tenacity.
“When Xena woke up she was different too,” Lila frowned.
“How was she different,” Gabrielle questioned softly.
“I don’t know, her eyes were hard and her face was tight.”
Then Lila went on to describe the conversation Xena had with Ares and how he had twisted the truth of Gabrielle and Xena’s relationship and the bard’s love for Xena. She began to blush when she started to reach the end of her tale, remembering how the warrior woman had been in the arms of the War God.
Gabrielle caught Lila’s blush and remembered the bruise on Ares’ neck. She clinched her teeth.
“It’s all right, Lila. Ares was here and made it clear that Xena was once again in his bed,” she said softly, her eyes blazing green. “Did you ride all night and day to get here?”
“What do we do?” the teenager cried as she nodded.
“First we get you some rest, they’ll be about a day behind you. I know Ares, he’ll take is time getting her here to twist her mind and body some more before she meets me,” Gabrielle said aloud.
“Gabrielle, we can’t let her near you,” Ephiny said softly.
“We’ll figure it out,” Gabrielle countered.
“She dies before she gets near you,” Ephiny insisted.
“No! There has to be a way!” Gabrielle smacked the bed she lay in and winced with the pain the motion brought.
“You can’t even sit up right now!” Ephiny protested.
“I’m not going to fight her, I’m going to talk to her.”
“She’ll kill you before you get the chance,” Ephiny said angrily.
“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.” Gabrielle’s jaw took on that familiar stubborn set.
“You’re Queen of the Amazons, it’s not just your life we’re talking about,” Ephiny pressed harder.
“I know that and I have to succeed. If she kills me and gets away, which is possible for her, then all the Amazons throughout the known world will be after her. It won’t take her long to gather an army, especially with the help of Ares - we’re talking a major war.”
“I know that, but I can’t risk you! Let me take your place here,” Ephiny insisted.
“No, Ares would warn her of that. If we don’t stop her here then Greece would soon be at war with Rome and the entire civilized world might fall into darkness,” Gabrielle stated simply.
“Rome?” Ephiny frowned.
“Now that Caesar has control of Rome Warlord Xena would stop at nothing to bring Caesar and Rome down, even it meant every man in Greece falling in the battle,” Gabrielle predicted.
“Oh gods, this could be the end of anything good,” Ephiny realized and Gabrielle nodded, remembering one of the fates Xena had been destined for before she met Gabrielle.
“Ephiny take Lila and get her cleaned up. I’ve got some thinking to do,” the Queen ordered.
Once the two women had left Gabrielle pulled out the feather and bead necklace with the sun symbol in the center. “Apollo, can you come to me?” she whispered.
A brilliant light filled the hut and the most handsome man the bard had ever seen stood before her, surrounded by light. He smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I can’t answer much, Gabrielle,” he warned.
“Can you help?” she asked bluntly.
“No,” he shook his head with a sadness. “We thought you had won the fight for Xena’s soul and the world wasn’t threatened by her darkness any longer but now there’s a very real possibility that she will live out her dark destiny and destroy the world and us.”
“We beat that once! I can do it again!” Gabrielle insisted.
“I hope so, but we can’t help. This comes under that unknown fate thing. If you succeed then your destiny becomes clear again, if not then everything is headed for darkness.”
“But we had won!” Gabrielle protested. “Ares twisted it somehow, he interfered!”
“Yes, and our hands are tied because we play a little more fair. It that right? I don’t know. Most of us would love to zap your mate back to her right mind and kick Ares all the way across Tartarus but we can’t help,” Apollo said softly.
“Can any of you help in anyway?” Gabrielle asked.
“Not that we can think of. Artemis is beside herself with anger and taking it out on target practice. Aphrodite and Cupid are fuming, the world may not see any new love for a week. Athena is planning and plotting revenge.” Apollo complained.
“What about keeping Ares out of the picture when I face Xena?” Gabrielle asked.
“You can’t face her. He’s twisted your relationship until she is battle frenzied just thinking about you. She’ll see any talk as an attempt to trick and twist her mind. Xena will kill you before she lets you talk,” Apollo protested.
“I have to try, isn’t that my destiny?” a tear slowly fell down the bard’s cheek and Apollo brushed it away with tenderness.
“We’ll keep him busy,” he promised and was gone.
Gabrielle allowed herself to break into tears.
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Xena was more than pissed, everything was upside down in her world now. Even Argo was gone, someone having switched Argo for a simple farm horse before she and Ares had left the cave. Ares had shrugged and dismissed the incident, not quite understanding how much she loved that horse. Not even the gods would be able to help whoever had taken Argo when she caught up with them, she promised herself.
How had it gotten so confused? How had she gotten to this point? She was Xena, Destroyer of Nations, damnit! Last thing she remembered was having an army that was wiping out everything in its way. Now Ares was telling her that she had no money, no army, no power, and only a reputation as a good fighter.
It all seemed to center around the woman Ares said she had married, a private bonding and a public bonding. Xena, Conqueror of Nations, getting married to someone? Accepting the title of Consort instead of Conqueror? Xena shook her head, it didn’t make sense! How had this woman twisted her up so badly? What power of the gods did she hold over the warlord?
Gabrielle, Ares had called her. A simple bard from Potedaia that had become Queen of the Amazons and conqueror of Xena.
The warrior growled, no one conquered her, not even Ares!
Ares, riding alongside Xena, noted the warrior’s growl and fierce look of rage but held his tongue. He had been working hard on the warrior’s mind and was content to let it all simmer and boil. Soon the irritating little bard would be dead and Xena would be lost to the light forever. The battles to come would be glorious!
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“Ephiny, I want you to get Lila as far away as you can before Xena gets here, and take Argo with her. Send her to the caves and get a message to the Centaurs to get Solan to safety. We have no idea what will happen if she escapes here and is still Warlord,” Gabrielle ordered.
“Yes, my Queen.”
“Next, I want you to let Xena through,” Gabrielle held up a hand, cutting off the protests from Ephiny, the Elders and the battle leaders. “This isn’t open for debate. I have to try. If I fail then I’ll attempt to kill her myself,” Gabrielle’s voice threatened to break and tears threatened to spill over but the Queen fought both down. “If I fail then I want you to kill her as quickly and painlessly as possible. This isn’t her fault and she’s been a good friend to the Amazon Nation for the past few years.”
The Elders and Battle leaders nodded in agreement.
“Next, send word to Hercules and Iolaus that I’m in trouble and explain what’s happened. If we can’t stop her here then maybe they can.”
“My Queen, she doesn’t remember you and Ares won’t be around, let me take your place, please!” Ephiny begged.
All of the battle leaders immediately volunteered as well.
“No, this is my destiny, or part of it. She’ll know, the connection isn’t broken totally, I’m counting on that,” Gabrielle smiled at her Regent. “Thank you, thank all of you but I have to do this.”
“My Queen,” one of the battle leaders protested, “You can’t even stand!”
“No, but that doesn’t matter, I couldn’t take her in a fight anyway. This will be a different kind of battle. Now, go, she’ll be here after dark,” Everyone started to leave the hut, none of them happy with the plans for the coming night.
“Ephiny, please send the healer to me.”
“Okay.”
A few minutes later the healer entered the hut and approached the Queen.
“I need to be able to move without too much pain. I’m not going to fight but I need to move without crying out in pain. Can you give me a light painkiller or something to block the pain?” the Queen asked.
“Yes, it will help a little. I’ll try and keep the dose low enough to where you’re not too fuzzy.”
“That would be best.”
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Xena was amazed at the skill of the Amazon guards. It had taken all of her measurable skills not to be spotted by the guards and scouts. She had no hesitation about killing any of them but she didn’t want an alarm raised and from observation she knew that she couldn’t get into the village and out again before one of the guards or scouts was missed.
It had taken her longer than she had wanted to get to the village but she was confident she could get out again before dawn. At least Ares had been helpful enough to provide her with a layout of the village before he disappeared, cursing at Aphrodite about something. That suited the warrior, she needed to kill her former mate without the god’s help to reclaim her reputation.
The warrior stopped for a moment. Mate? This woman must be incredible to have conquered the Conqueror, Xena thought. Ares had described her as “irritating” and “little.” Xena was puzzled and curious.
The warrior shook it off and moved like a night demon through the village.
Ephiny, waiting in a nearby tree, shook her head. If she hadn’t been watching the same spot for over the last two hours, she never would have seen the warrior enter the Queen’s hut.
The Regent reflected that it was a good thing they knew the warrior was coming or they wouldn’t stand a chance at stopping her. The Regent opened the hood of the lantern she carried, once and quickly. They had decided against noise since the warrior was notorious for her uncanny hearing ability and Xena probably wouldn’t see a single flash of light from the hut.
Ephiny knew that a large number of Amazon warriors were moving into position. If anyone moved out of the hut without a recognition signal they would be bathed in light and arrows in the same instant. The Regent also knew that if Gabrielle were forced to kill Xena and actually succeed that the Queen probably wouldn’t live long after that. Soulmates rarely outlived their mates for very long.
Ephiny found herself beginning to pray for both women in the hut.
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Gabrielle felt the change of energy in the hut and quickly drew in her breath, her heart skipping a beat. The next few moments could determine the future of her and Xena and possibly the world. She took a deep breath.
“Xena, I know you’re there. I want to light a lamp if you’ll let me. I want to see your face when you strike the blow,” Gabrielle said softly and heard a creak of leather. It seemed like forever before a voice came out of the darkness.
“All right, one wrong move and you’re dead.”
Gabrielle, knowing the warrior’s night vision and skills, moved very slowly, sitting up carefully and reaching slowly to strike flint and spark. The bard closed her eyes against the flash of light and then opened them to light the lamp next to her bed. She carefully turned, sitting on the edge of the bed.
The bard tried to fight down the wave of fear that struck at her when she caught sight of the warrior, of her mate. Xena was in her battle gear, sword drawn, crouched like a cat very near the bed.
“You’re here to kill me anyway,” Gabrielle stated simply.
“Yes,” Xena agreed, eyes constantly darting around for hidden dangers.
“I give you my word as Amazon Queen that no one will enter this hut until I give them permission.”
“You knew I was coming,” Xena stated, straightening up, keeping the sword at ready.
“Yes,” Gabrielle acknowledged.
“The Gods are helping you again,” the warrior spat the words out like venom.
“No, my sister followed you and stole your horse. She heard you planning to come here,” Gabrielle attempted a small smile.
“That explains Argo. What say we get this over with, Queen. I’ve a feeling I’m going to have to fight my way out of here,” Xena said with a grin that sent chills down the bard’s spine.
“All right, but first I’d like a warrior’s promise from you.”
“What could you want me to promise before you die?” Xena questioned, cocking her head to one side. The woman in front of her puzzled her and Xena wanted out of here quickly. The one called Gabrielle was small for an Amazon, Xena reflected. Golden reddish hair and a beautiful face, lovely green eyes. All right, the Warlord thought, she’s beautiful, but my mate?
The Warlord’s experienced eyes could also tell the Queen had recently either been injured very badly or very ill, her face was slightly gaunt and tight with controlled pain, even though the Queen sought to hide it. Her movements were intentionally slow, as not to startle the Warlord but there was also stiffness and pain behind the movements.
Xena waited for the request before striking.
“That you’ll never approach Solan or hurt him,” Gabrielle said simply and noticed the warrior’s rapid blinking in response to her son’s name.
“How do you know about Solan?” Xena demanded, moving forward quickly, the point of the sword at Gabrielle’s throat.
“We’re bond-mates, soul-mates. I know about Solan. He was at our wedding and he also figured out that you’re his mom and is very proud of you. I don’t want you destroying that memory. It’ll be difficult enough for him when he hears you’ve returned as the Warlord.”
Xena frowned. “What should I care what he thinks? He wouldn’t understand,” she muttered.
“No, he wouldn’t. Just like I never did and never will. I fell in love with a different Xena, so did he,” Gabrielle said softly, slowly moving the blade away from her throat.
“Love? You were sent by the gods to destroy me,” Xena sneered.
“No, I found my soul-mate, whether you destroyed me or not with your darkness. No matter what, I love you and won’t live without you.”
“You’re trying to trick me with fancy talk,” Xena growled and raised the sword over the bard’s neck.
“No, I’m letting you know that I love you, even if you kill me now. I also want you to know that if you do this then you’ll find yourself in Tartarus very soon and that I’ll be waiting.”
“What, to torment me for eternity? Aren’t you bound for the Fields?” Xena smirked.
“Yes, I believe so but I’ll choose to be in Tartarus waiting for you. Not to torment you but to face whatever eternity is your destiny, together. I’m counting on you remembering our love on the otherside,” Gabrielle said.
“What?” Xena whispered.
“I told my father when he confronted me about my feelings for you that I would face an eternity in Tartarus with you and I meant it,” Gabrielle said simply.
Xena lowered the blade with a frown. After a moment she raised it again with a snarl.
“You brought me down from warlord to wandering warrior, not again!” Xena growled.
“And you brought me from simple farm girl to one who has known love. You saved me and my village women from slavers. That’s how we met. Did Ares tell you that?”
“You’re twisting things!” Xena hissed.
“No, I’m not. Do you trust anyone?” Gabrielle stood up and faced the warlord.
“No, not even Ares.” Xena admitted.
“Look at your hand, your left hand,” Xena looked down at the healing wound and was stunned to see a similar wound on the bard’s left hand. “We were blood bound by the gods themselves. You trusted me with your love and I gave you my heart.”
Xena frowned, sword lowering slowly. Blood bond? She would never trust anyone like that, not even Ares, she thought. Blood bond? Tying together of souls for eternity?
“When we met you had been driven out of your army because you tried to save a small infant and a little girl. Your army went against your orders and killed everyone and everything, men, women, children, even the animals. They put you through a gauntlet, almost killing you. Hercules and Iolaus found you and tried to convince you to change your ways, they saw a light in you.”
The bard approached the warrior slowly, keeping her hands in sight.
“Then you decided to give up your weapons, YOU gave up your warlord past. We hadn’t even met yet, Xena. You were burying your weapons when the slavers attacked us. You rescued us and I followed you.”
“Why? How do I know this is the truth?” Xena demanded, her head spinning.
“Because if you search your heart and soul you’ll find me there. I followed you because I had to,” Gabrielle shrugged. “I don’t know why, truly. I couldn’t stay in the village any longer, I knew I was destined for something more than that and that you were part of it. When your mother refused to believe that you were changing and that you wanted to protect the village from Draco, I helped talk the villagers out of killing you.”
“Wait a minute! I was trying to convince my mother that I wasn’t the warlord anymore?”
“Yes, you even left your sword on the bar and walked out of her inn.”
“Never!” Xena protested.
“Yes, you were determined to prove it to her, even if took years. When Draco attacked you made a single challenge to him and won, forcing his army to leave the village alone.”
“Ares said I didn’t win,” Xena muttered.
“If you hadn’t Amphipolis wouldn’t be standing. You refused the treasure wagons and moved on, satisfied when your mother accepted you once again. Then I kept following you until you grew used to me.”
“I didn’t take the money?” Xena finally allowed her curiosity to win out over the battle warrior screaming inside for her to simply kill the small woman and get out of there. Her mind screaming that she was falling into a trap. The warrior sat down in a chair at the table, replacing the sword in her hand with her chakram. Both Gabrielle and Xena knew that the bard wouldn’t be able to take a step before the chakram could cut her down.
Gabrielle grinned. “You refused.”
“You must have been annoying in the beginning, you talk a lot,” Xena grumbled.
Gabrielle moved slowly to the other chair, keeping her hands in sight. “Yup, no doubt about it but you came to like my stories and we came to be friends and then partners.”
“Ares calls you ‘irritating,’” Xena commented.
“Want to hear what I call him?” Gabrielle countered with a grin and was pleased when Xena grinned back.
“No, not right now. You’re telling me that we travel around doing good things?” Xena looked extremely doubtful.
“Yes,” Gabrielle answered simply.
“Why?” Xena demanded.
“Well, you found that kicking the Tartarus out of bad guys more satisfying than picking on defenseless villagers.” Xena grinned at the thought of that. “You were quite pleased with yourself when you defeated Draco that time. You leap into battle with your famous warcry and a grin on your face, this time facing equal opponents. Men and women armed and attempting to kill you or someone else. Not terrified villagers defending their homes.”
Xena growled.
“When did we become lovers? How did that happen? From what you describe I don’t think that I just grabbed you on the first night and you stuck around.”
“No, you were patient,” Xena again gave her a doubtful look and Gabrielle laughed at the warrior. “We were both so terrified of losing each other’s friendship that we kept our feelings to ourselves until we nearly went mad.”
“You weren’t sent to seduce me?” Xena whispered.
Gabrielle blushed a beet red. “Would the gods send an inexperienced virgin farmgirl to the Conqueror?” she managed to stammer out.
“Probably not. When did it happen?” Xena was now extremely curious.
“Recently, actually. We finally figured out that the other one was feeling the same emotions and desires and finally acted on them. You asked me to marry you before we even kissed,” Gabrielle said carefully, watching Xena’s reactions.
“No way!” the warrior protested.
“Yes, truth. In my parent’s barn. You took your chakram off and laid it, your sword and your dagger at my feet and pledged your love for me. I pledged my love to you in return and stood down my father. We became lovers the next morning.” Gabrielle felt her face flush with the memory of the first time with Xena.
Gabrielle felt her breathing speed up as she closed her eyes with the memory. She let the emotion and desire flow over her, knowing Xena was watching her. Sunning on a rock after a cold swim, the warrior had surprised the bard and quickly showed the bard how much Xena desired the blond woman.
Xena’s eyes narrowed as Gabrielle opened her eyes. A warrior’s pledge? Xena? The warrior glanced down at her hand and the wound. The bard reached out her left hand, showing her wound.
“Give me your dagger,” she demanded from the warrior.
Xena raised her eyebrows and raised the chakram.
“You know I’m no match for you. Let me see your dagger,” Gabrielle insisted and the warrior carefully pulled out the dagger from her side, keeping the chakram at ready.
Xena watched fascinated as the bard slit her palm, opening the wound again, letting the blood pool in her palm. Gabrielle laid the dagger on the table.
“Are you brave enough to test whether we’re connected or not?”
“Some trick of the gods,” Xena growled.
“No, my word as Queen. No trick from the gods, just our hearts.”
Xena frowned, no one challenged her bravery!
“You have several seasons of missing memories, don’t you want them back?” Gabrielle asked. “Ares is using you. Why would he wipe out your memories if he wasn’t?”
Xena sliced her palm open with her chakram and grabbed the bard’s hand in hers.
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Xena felt a rush that was akin to the drug induced trances Alti had taught her in the North. The warrior’s head snapped back and she tightened her grip on the bard’s hand.
She cried out as wave after wave of memory hit her. Xena didn’t resist when she felt the chakram being gently taken from her hand, nor did she open her eyes when she felt Gabrielle pull the warrior to her feet and guide her across the room. Xena gratefully slid into the bard’s arms on the bed as her body shook and her mind screamed in agony.
After what seemed an eternity the warrior became aware of her surroundings and that she was in the arms of the bard she had come to kill. The woman she had taken as soul-mate.
“No!” she cried out. Xena felt the tears streaming down her face and her body began to shake as she sobbed. Gabrielle turned the warrior over until Xena was facing her and then held the taller woman close.
“I wanted you dead!” Xena whimpered, attempting to pull away from Gabrielle but the bard held fast.
“No, the Warlord wanted me dead, not you. That’s no longer you,” Gabrielle argued.
“I almost killed you! How do we know it won’t happen again?” the warrior shouted, sitting up, turning away from Gabrielle. The bard grabbed her from behind and held tight.
“Because he won’t win. He’ll never win. As long as we have our love, no one can win against us!” Gabrielle argued.
“I love you so much but I’m going to end up hurting you, I know it!” Xena cried.
Gabrielle sighed heavily and crawled out of the bed. Taking the lamp to the door she opened it slowly, letting the Amazons see her clearly and called out a bird call. She slowly went back to the bedside table and sat the lamp down. She then knelt in front of her love.
“I love you and you probably will hurt me.” Xena looked up into the bard’s green eyes, terrified. “We will always have that power over each other. It’s hard to hurt someone unless there’s deep feelings there. I love you but I accept that I might hurt you in the future. I’ll chance being hurt and pray I never hurt you,” Gabrielle insisted.
“I almost became the Warlord again. I WAS the Warlord again,” Xena countered.
“Only because Ares messed with your memories. Let it go, he’s lost and we’ve won. Come back to me, my love,” Gabrielle insisted.
“I can’t, I was a moment away from killing you!” Xena growled, resisting the bard.
Gabrielle decided to stop arguing with words and grabbed the warrior’s face and pulled herself up into the warrior’s lips. Xena resisted and Gabrielle fought back, following the warrior until they were laying back on the bed, the small bard on top of Xena.
The warrior finally gave into the kiss and her strong arms wrapped around the moaning bard. They broke away from the kiss when Gabrielle yelped. She leaned up slightly and tapped the armor beneath her.
“This has got to go, warrior.”
Xena grinned and nodded. The bard eagerly got up from her warrior and began helping the woman remove the leather and metal covering. As the bard helped remove the armor from behind she leaned into Xena’s ear.
“How much do you remember?” she asked.
“Everything, the first time together, the wedding, you being poisoned, taking my mom and your family home, everything,” Xena answered, leaning back into her bard.
“Good, then you’ll remember that it’s been awhile since I was up to touching you.”
Gabrielle reached out and bit the warrior’s earlobe and found herself quickly enveloped in the warrior’s arms as Xena turned and they fell back onto the bed. With a growl of impatience they both managed to get each other’s clothes off somehow.
Xena quickly sought out Gabrielle’s lips, almost painfully. The bard countered with her tongue and teeth, lightly nipping the warrior’s lips. The bard’s hands pulled Xena on top of her, grabbing the warrior tightly, working a leg between the other woman’s legs. The warrior moaned and bit down on an aroused nipple, sending the bard arching her back and crying out.
Suddenly the bard felt Xena stiffen and then move away from her to sit on the edge of the bed. Catching her breath, Gabrielle sat up quickly.
“What
is it, Xena?” the bard asked.
“I.... I can’t,” the warrior whispered.
Gabrielle sighed, insight sweeping over her. “Because you were with Ares?”
“You knew?” Xena refused to meet Gabrielle’s eyes and the bard pulled the woman’s face around to look at her in the eyes.
“Yes, he came around to brag,” Gabrielle admitted, pain showing in her eyes.
“Son of a bacchae!” Xena hissed.
“I agree. That wasn’t my mate, that wasn’t my Xena. You didn’t even remember me, Xena,” Gabrielle argued.
“I slept with him! Arrrggghhh!”
“From what I hear you didn’t do much sleeping,” Gabrielle grinned around her pain and was rewarded with a warrior suddenly tickling her.
“I remember now that you’re ticklish,” Xena warned.
“Good, then you remember you love me, not him. Come here and show me how much,” Gabrielle I insisted, pulling Xena back on top of her. The warrior quickly responded to the encouragement.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Xena!” a male voice demanded outside the hut, sending both women scrambling for weapons. In a moment Gabrielle had a spike in her hand that had been hidden in her wrist bracer and Xena had her chakram ready. Xena looked at the spike with raised eyebrows and Gabrielle merely shrugged.
The warrior wrapped her cloak around her and opened the door to the hut cautiously.
She wasn’t surprised to see Ares standing in the common area, hands on his hips and a furious look on his face. He was ignoring the fact that he was surrounded by armed Amazons, each with his heart or head lined in their arrow sights.
Xena walked out of the hut, holding the cloak closed around her, pulling the cloth up over one bare shoulder. She stopped in front of him.
“Oh you are in such trouble!” he hissed.
“I usually am with you,” the warrior commented easily.
“How did she do it? Talk you to death again?” he demanded. “No, don’t tell me, I can see you’ve been doing more than talking,” he pointed to her bare shoulder and Xena pulled the cloak up again.
“Nope, well, sort of. She told me the truth and I recognized it,” Xena grinned.
“I told you the truth, you grew weak and lost your edge and you lost the warlord,” Ares countered.
“I gave up the warlord before Gabrielle, she merely helped me find the light,” Xena said simply.
“You can’t deny what we have together,” his voice softened.
“We had sex between us, with Gabrielle it’s love,” She opened her left hand, showing the fresh wound.
“This isn’t over, Xena!” he promised and was gone.
“You better hope it is,” she muttered and grinned at Ephiny and Solari, both holding bows with notched arrows. “Uh, I’ve got my memories back.”
Ephiny grinned at the warrior’s discomfort. “Consort, I think your Queen needs your attention.”
Xena blushed and started past the Amazons who were resisting laughing at the warrior. “Xena, be careful, she pulled her back out a couple of days ago,” Ephiny suggested.
“I want to ask her about that spike,” the warrior muttered. Xena closed the door blushing and turned in time to catch Gabrielle in her arms as the bard leaped for her warrior.
“Some backache,” Xena muttered.
“You’re my cure for everything,” Gabrielle whispered, beginning to nibble on the warrior’s neck, sending the warrior stumbling back into the door.
Ephiny rolled her eyes at the thump and the following moans coming from the hut. Solari laughed and wrapped an arm around her mate’s shoulders.
“Terrific, another sleepless night for anyone near the Queen’s hut,” Ephiny complained.
“I’ll take this over fighting the Warlord Xena,” Solari grinned.
“Any day, my love, any day,” Ephiny agreed, nuzzling her mate’s neck.
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