Gladiator, Bard, Warrior - Awakenings 6
Ms Hunter Ash
ripperbard7@yahoo.com
frost29@post.com
The usual: I don't own Xena and crew. The story and original characters are mine. No harm to the copyrights held by others.
Rating: PG13 (violence - its the Arena)
Pairings: Gabrielle/Nikki, Gabrielle/Xena
# # # #
Gabrielle took several deep breaths and let Dancer take over and drew out her sais into her hand. The other three opponents approached from the other side of the Arena.
Three? Gabrielle felt a wave of fear try to overcome her and faced it down. She and Xena had taken on worse before. A small voice reminded her that those were usually bandits, not trained killers in the Arena. She shook the voice aside and the fighters approached the royal box where Caesar and his guests watched under the shade of an awning.
Raising their weapons high the fighters gave the traditional salute.
“We who are about to die, salute you!” they shouted and then turned to face each other, watching Caesar out of the corner of their eyes for the signal.
Dancer was dressed in light armor, almost like the kind her mate, Xena wore, but with an additional piece of leather running down the length of her right arm for extra protection and a wide leather belt around her waist to help protect her back muscles from giving out. A remnant of the poisoning she had been through.
Two of the other fighters were dressed in heavy armor and carried swords and medium sized shields. The other fighter was dressed in a tunic, light leather armor, small shield and a spear. Dancer was most worried about him.
“Citizens of Rome!” Caesar rose to his feet. “I am pleased to present for your entertainment the gladiator from the barbarian North, the female warrior Brie. More popularly known by her fighting name of Dancer. Facing her are three of Rome’s best, fighting for the honor of Rome against the barbarian hordes.”
Gabrielle wondered who he was betting on.
“Tibor, Helliavius, and Bigarious,” the crowd cheered and waved handkerchiefs. “Let the fight begin!” Caesar announced and dropped his own handkerchief.
Dancer leaped into the air and came down with one foot in the face of Tibor, a heavily armed gladiator. She spun in mid-air and caught Bigarious, the other heavily armed fighter, across the ear. She landed on her feet and hands and dived forward as Helliavius stabbed with his spear where she had landed. She came up in a defensive stance with the sais at ready.
With a war cry she quickly leaped forward, somersaulting in the air and landed behind Helliavius and before either of them could turn, the small woman stabbed backwards with her sais, impaling the small fighting man through both lungs.
Dancer pulled out the sais and quickly moved away from the two heavily armed gladiators as they gained their feet. The crowd roared, whether from approval or disappointment, Dancer didn’t know and didn’t care. Nothing existed except her weapons, the conditions in the Arena and the fighters in front of her.
Both separated and began a flanking action. Dancer knew that Xena would merely flip into the air with that infamous war cry of hers, let the two run into each other, come down and smash their heads together and be done with it. Unfortunately Dancer wasn’t that talented and wasn’t the daughter of the God of War, she thought ruefully.
She also backed up slowly, keeping both warriors in her sights but knew she was going to run out of room soon and the crowd was getting restless. Dancer definitely didn’t want one of the guards prodding her into action with a red hot poker, thank you.
Dancer threw up her arms and hands with her sais, catching both swords as the two fighters attempted overhead strikes. Rather than fight against their combined strength, Dancer allowed the swords to continue downward at a slower rate and dived over them, pulling one sword out of the gladiator’s hand. She hissed with sudden pain and quickly moved outside of sword range, picking up the fallen sword as she scurried a few feet away. She placed one of her sais in its sheath and raised the sword in her right hand.
She glanced down at the back of her thigh and found it bleeding at a fairly good rate.
The gladiator whose sword she now had pulled the spear out of the sand and they began circling again.
Dancer moved back and ripped a piece of her tunic off and kept circling and managed to bandage her thigh. She needed to end the fight and quickly. They could keep feinting and tire her out until she made a mistake and became trapped between them.
With a war cry the small woman raised her sword and charged at the gladiator with the spear, twisting at the last moment as he attempted to impale her. She gritted her teeth against the pain as the spearhead pierced the leather and slid along her ribs. With her elbow she smashed the fighter in the face and then spun around as the other fighter closed the distance between him and her. Dancer grabbed the stunned spearman and spun him around by his collar as his comrade swung a downward stroke with his large sword. Dancer saw the horror in his eyes as he realized he couldn’t stop the momentum and his sword cleaved his friend’s head open, splashing the small woman with blood and brain matter.
She quickly let go of the body and flipped over backwards, drawing her other sai, having dropped her sword when she had grabbed the stunned fighter.
The last fighter yelled in rage and charged. Dancer quickly found that they were fairly evenly matched skill wise and he was in a rage, giving in an additional edge in strength and speed. Dancer attempted to hang on until that edge waned and his anger caused him to make a mistake.
Gabrielle winced in pain and cried out as a sword stroke found its mark and sliced her left arm, causing her to drop her sai. She quickly dived forward out of reach of another sword strike and came up holding her arm with her good hand and sai.
She could see victory in the other fighter’s eyes and felt it herself. Nikki, watching from the barred gate, could see the stubborn set of the Amazon Queen’s jaw line and knew that look from experience, Gabrielle was not amused and not about to quit.
Nikki knew this was probably their last chance at freedom, Caesar kept sending better and better opponents against the small woman and now he was sending in more than one at a time. She caught the Queen’s glance and signaled to her trainee with an Amazon hand signal.
She saw Dancer’s head roll back slightly, considering her opponent as they circled each other, neither giving an inch of ground yet.
Seeing the other fighter tensing for a charge the Queen rocked forward on her toes and waited until he was moving. With a scream she flipped the sai into the air, momentarily stopping his charge as he glanced up in surprise. Dancer flipped over backwards and came up in a leap, catching the sai in mid-air with her foot, changing the direction of the weapon, straight into the gladiator’s throat. He fell grasping at the weapon, the last of his breath gurgling around the blood.
Dancer walked over and retrieved her sais and faced the crowd and Caesar.
Gabrielle, coming back into focus behind Dancer’s eyes, realized the crowd was cheering and chanting “the sword,” to Caesar. Gabrielle, covered in blood, raised her hand and sai in salute to Caesar and bowed.
Caesar, an amused look on his face stood and held out his hands to calm the crowd who continued to roar for another few moments before quieting down.
“Citizens, I agree that this was a magnificent display of fighting talent and should be rewarded!” He held out his hand and a slave quickly placed something in his hand that caused Gabrielle’s hear to skip a beat. A wooden sword.
The crowd went hysterical with delight. Most of them had never seen a gladiator win the sword before and they were even more pleased that it was the small woman in front of them.
Caesar held up the sword, displaying it for the crowd. Gabrielle went to one knee as she faced Caesar.
“You have earned your freedom, slave, by your skills with the sword. May your freedom serve you well!” he shouted and tossed the sword down, impaling it in front of the warrior woman.
Gabrielle bowed her head and then took the sword in her hand and stood up. With a triumphant grin she held the sword high to the crowd. The crowd began showering the arena floor with flowers and handkerchiefs with coins tied inside. Gabrielle began a painful trot around the rim of the arena with the wooden sword high, letting the crowd see it. Then she bowed to Caesar and the crowd again before disappearing through the iron gate and into Nikki’s congratulating arms.
# # #
Brutus caught up with Gabrielle and Nikki in the bath house of the Arena. He ignored the beautiful and naked body in front of him as she crawled out of the tub of water and moved onto a table where Nikki began stitching up her thigh.
“Congratulations!” he grinned. “You are the hero of Rome!”
“I can’t believe it!” she grinned back. “Me, lowly bard from Greece, the darling of Rome. Caesar wanting nothing more than to stake me out as bait like a goat to a tiger and he grants me my freedom. Strange fates.”
“I agree, if you’re willing to chance it, the plan is still in place,” Brutus said.
“What do you mean chance it?” she asked.
“We still have to get you out of the city before someone realizes who you are. Just because you’ve been granted your freedom doesn’t lessen the danger. Caesar expects you at the party. Accept his offer to become one of his paid gladiator fighters and then accept the invitation of the Senator for the evening. Caesar won’t think anything about it when you leave,” Brutus said quickly.
“He knows I won’t leave with a man,” Gabrielle protested.
“It’s not the Senator that the date is for, it’s for his wife,” Brutus grinned.
“Oh crying out loud!” Gabrielle muttered. “Now even Senator’s wives?”
“As one of the top gladiators in Rome, little Dancer, you could have any man or woman you wanted for your pleasure.”
“We’re still leaving, right?” she demanded.
“Yes, in five days you’ll be on the border of Germania,” he said with a grin.
“Xena,” she whispered.
“I’m sending a messenger up north to try and find your family and that I’m coming with word of your fate,” Brutus grinned.
Gabrielle closed her eyes as a tear of hope escaped.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gabrielle paced the inside of the small rooms assigned to Brutus at the outpost like a caged animal. Nikki, having gotten extremely quiet the further north they got, finally snapped and told the small gladiator to sit down.
“What’s wrong, Nikki?” Gabrielle asked, walking up behind the tall warrior and beginning to massage her shoulders. Nikki shook her off angrily and stood up, moving to the window with her crutch. “What is it?” Gabrielle repeated.
“The closer we get to the border to closer I get to losing you. I’m trying to adjust, all right?”
“I’m sorry, Nikki. I’ve used you badly.” A tear escaped Gabrielle’s eyes and she brushed them away angrily.
Nikki turned and her face softened.
“We used each other, Brie. Don’t blame yourself for that. It’s just that you have someone waiting for you and I feel you slipping away more and more every day. Within the week you won’t be Dancer the Gladiator anymore, you’ll go back to being Gabrielle, bard and Amazon.”
“I don’t know if I can go back. Dancer saved my life and I don’t know if I can just turn that off and go back to being the innocent bard I was.”
“No,” Nikki agreed. “You can’t go back to being innocent. You’ve killed in the arena. It was self defense but it was also for someone else’s sport. You’ve used your friends and your body to survive but you don’t have to be Dancer any more. You’ll find the middle ground. You’ll have your mate to help you.”
“Will I? Will she even want Dancer? She always treasured that innocence about me and now it’s gone.”
“It’s not gone, just bruised a little or else you wouldn’t throw up every time you kill in the Arena,” Nikki teased.
“She won’t even know me anymore. I don’t know me anymore,” Gabrielle complained and brushed a tear away again.
“If she loves you just a fraction of the way you love her then you have no worries.”
“Nikki, I’m sorry about us,” Gabrielle started again but Nikki held up a hand to stop her.
“Enough, my friend. You gave back my life and I helped keep you alive. I’m not asking for anything, Brie.”
“You’ve got my friendship,” Gabrielle smiled weakly.
“I’ll take it,” Nikki grinned.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finally, Brutus came in that night and said that Hercules had been to the outpost to see if Brutus had arrived yet. The Greek demi-god would return the next day to meet with Brutus.
Again Gabrielle cried herself to sleep that night and Nikki wasn’t sure if it was out of happiness or fear.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Early the next morning Hercules left to meet with the Roman and Xena paced the forest on the edge of a clearing by the road, waiting impatiently. Iolaus waited further back in the trees, Sasha strapped to his back and the Greek sitting in the saddle, ready to ride if it was a trap.
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Hercules dismounted and approached the gate carefully, very aware of the Roman sentries and their caution in dealing with anyone coming from the north of the small outpost. He approached the sentry table and looked down on at the common soldier and the Watch Sergeant.
“What do you want here, barbarian?” the sergeant demanded, speaking in rough Germanic.
Hercules considered how he was dressed for a moment, in rough leather trousers tucked inside fur lined boots, crisscrossed with leather thongs, homespun cotton tunic covered with a fur lined vest tunic, a thick leather and cloth cloak with wolf fur on the shoulders. A Viking sword hung at his belt. His typical leather bracers on his wrists accented his muscular forearms and a full beard finished his appearance. Hercules agreed he probably looked very Germanic but this didn’t excuse rudeness, thank you.
“I am here to see Brutus, aid to Caesar. I’ve brought someone to see him at his request.” Hercules replied in perfect Latin.
“Brutus doesn’t see every barbarian walking through the gate, even if they can speak in a civilized tongue!”
The sneering sergeant found himself hovering over the table, held aloft by the tall figure in front of him by his collar. The foot soldier froze.
“My people were civilized while your Romulus and Remus were sucking on the tits of a wolf,” Hercules growled. “Tell him Hercules wishes to see him.”
The foot soldier quickly scurried away while Hercules kept the sergeant held above the table easily. The Roman sentries were unsure of what to do while their sergeant sputtered.
Hercules dropped the sergeant when he caught site of the Roman officer, Brutus approaching quickly.
“Hercules, join me,” Brutus stopped and looked down at the fallen sergeant. “Twenty hours of extra duty this week for being rude to my invited guest.”
Once inside Brutus’ temporary quarters he offered the demi-god a seat and wine. Hercules accepted both.
“I apologize for that idiot out there,” Brutus began, sitting across from the son of Zeus.
“Attitudes like that towards the Germans and you’ll have fights on your hands. They don’t take well to being insulted,” Hercules warned and Brutus frowned.
“I know, trying to get good men on the border is difficult.”
“Nevermind him. Xena is a couple of miles from here waiting for me. You sent word that you had news of Gabrielle?”
“Yes, I understand that she disappeared almost two years ago and I’ve heard that your friend Iolaus, all of Xena’s friends, the Amazons and half of Greece have been searching for her.”
“Yes, March will be two years and we’ve searched with no success. Xena knows that Gabrielle is still alive, that she would know if the bard were dead. What do you know? Is this a trick of Caesar’s to get to Xena?” Hercules demanded.
“Caesar? No. He’d be very unhappy with me if he knew the real reason I asked for this treaty mission with the Northern tribes. Gabrielle is alive and well.”
Hercules’ head dropped forward with a prayer of thanks.
“Before you I tell you more, I have a question.”
Hercules frowned but nodded.
“It’s been over a year, does Xena still love her?”
“Brutus, you don’t have any idea how much Xena has suffered with Gabrielle missing. She’s nearly gone mad. Tell me what you know,” Hercules demanded.
“I can only tell Xena of Gabrielle’s fate. I will ride with you, escorted by two of my slaves only. When we get near to Xena you may take my weapons as a sign of truce. Is that agreeable?”
“Yes.”
“Good. My slaves and I will meet you outside the gate in a few minutes.” Brutus rose and grasped Hercules’ forearm in a warrior handshake.
“You better pray the news is good, Brutus. I’m not sure how Xena would treat the bearer of bad news at this point.”
“I understand, I promised Gabrielle to make this trip myself.”
“Why?”
“Like your Xena, I’m in love with Gabrielle. Is that so hard to understand?”
“No, but I’m not sure I’d tell Xena that right now,” Hercules grinned a grim smile.
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A few minutes later Hercules was surprised to be joined outside the gate by Brutus and his two slaves on horseback. What surprised him was that they were heavily cloaked with their faces hidden and their wrists were chained.
Brutus noticed the demi-god’s look and shrugged. “Slaves have a tendency to try and escape when they’re this close to the border. Policy,” he explained.
“Why bring them with us?” Hercules asked as they began riding towards the north.
“They are witnesses to Gabrielle’s fate this last year.”
After a few minutes Brutus broke the silence.
“Why did Xena leave Greece?”
“She wanted to get away from Ares and Caesar,” Hercules said simply.
Brutus nodded and let Hercules lead them. When they approached a clearing off the path Hercules stopped and reached out a hand. Brutus easily drew his sword and handed it over to the demi-god and then his dagger. Hercules then moved his horse forward again into the clearing.
Stopping in the center of the clearing the large son of Zeus stopped and raised his hands in an Amazon hand signal and then turned and motioned Brutus forward.
Xena stepped out of the tree line slowly, sword drawn. She was dressed the same as Hercules and looked like a dark haired Valkyrie, Brutus thought.
Brutus dismounted and motioned for the slaves to do the same. He turned and slowly approached the warrior with his hands up and palms showing. Xena’s jaw was clenched and her knuckles were white on the handle of her sword.
Brutus resisted grinning.
“Xena, it’s good to see you well,” he said simply with a smile.
“Even though Caesar has a price on my head?” she answered with a smile as well.
Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the slaves, their cloaks and especially their chains. The slaves kept their heads bowed. One was a woman, possibly both, Xena’s trained eyes told her.
“You know I don’t always do what Caesar wants or Gabrielle would be dead by now.”
“You know where she is?” Xena demanded, the smile leaving her face.
“Yes. Word went out from Caesar to find her, so, along with all of your friends, Amazons and half of Greece looking for her, every Roman wanting to get on Caesar’s good side was looking for her. He had learned of her traveling with you from the bard stories we heard and he figured he might be able to use her against you once she disappeared. He was extremely determined to find her before you did.”
“We thought that might happen,” Xena muttered. “Does he have her?” the warrior whispered.
“No, he didn’t know when he found her. I did,” Brutus held up a hand to cut off her questions. “Let me tell you a short story. Short because I’m not the storyteller that Gabrielle is.”
Xena frowned but nodded, motioning to the tree line and the three warriors moved into the shade of the trees while the slaves knelt on both knees, heads still bowed, beside the horses. Xena was considering whether to let Brutus leave with the slaves and knew Hercules was probably thinking the same thing.
“Make it quick, Brutus.” Xena growled.
“Somehow Gabrielle was captured during a border skirmish and because of her light hair and eyes they thought her Northern and took her prisoner. She was sold to slavers.” Xena growled deep in her throat. “She was sold to a gladiatorial school, thankfully.”
“Thankfully? To die in the Arena?” Xena questioned.
“Better a chance at life than on a cross, don’t you think? That’s where most of your Northern friends end up when captured. The Arena or on a cross.”
“Go on,” Xena said between clenched teeth.
“She became a fighter and a good one. I found out where she was by accident.”
“Gabrielle a fighter, in the Arena?” Xena whispered. The thought of her little bard in the Arena with blood on her hands from a recent kill caused Xena’s head to spin.
“Yes.” Brutus said simply. “She ended up in the Circus Arena, Xena.”
“Arena?” Xena thought her heart would stop right then. Her little bard fighting in the Arena? Impossible.
“Yes, fortunately Caesar had never met Gabrielle or he would have known her.”
“Where is she?” Xena demanded.
“Do you want her back, Xena?”
Brutus wasn’t surprised to find a chakram at his throat, just pressing into his neck.
“Xena, listen to me first!” Brutus asked and the warrior eased the chakram back a couple of inches. “Gabrielle has become a fighter and has killed. She kills instinctively and without thought, a true gladiator. She still grieves for each death afterwards but while fighting she is deadly and dangerous, she’s not your little naive bard any longer. Gabrielle has been raped repeatedly, especially in the beginning and she has used her body to stay alive and her identity hidden, all so that she could get back to you. She even offered me her body if I could get her back to you. She’s carrying a lot of guilt, Xena.”
“She has nothing to be guilty of!” Xena protested. “I know what happens to Roman slave women and women gladiators; I can’t believe she’s alive after this!” the warrior brushed away a tear angrily. “I can’t live without her, this isn’t living Brutus, I’m just existing. No matter what has happened to her, I want her back!” Xena hissed.
“Xena!” a familiar voice stunned the warrior and she slowly turned to look at the slaves, lowering the chakram.
Gabrielle slowly raised her chained hands and pulled her hood back, green eyes looking deep into blue ones.
“Gabrielle?”
In one fluid motion Xena dropped the chakram and had crossed the space between her and Gabrielle and pulled the bard to her feet and into the warrior’s arms. The warrior began to cry as she held her mate closely and felt Gabrielle’s tears flowing as well.
“Little one,” Xena whispered. “Oh gods, I’ve missed you!”
Hercules, with a grin, walked over and gently pulled the two women apart for a moment and snapped the chain holding Gabrielle’s arms from holding her warrior. With a grin, the bard wrapped her arms around Xena as the warrior’s lips claimed her own after so long and Xena laughed, lifting her little mate into her arms, holding onto a very tight ass.
Nikki stood up and held out her hands as Brutus unlocked her chains with a grin.
The two reunited lovers finally broke apart and faced everyone else.
“Brutus, what happened?” Xena asked, holding Gabrielle close.
“I bought her and her trainer Nikki. Caesar learned I had purchased a fighter and her trainer and demanded to see her. Then he decided he wanted to see her in action and sent her into the Arena. It took months to figure a way out of Rome and away from Caesar.”
Xena leaned her head on top of Gabrielle’s, continuing to cry tears of happiness and disbelief.
She opened her eyes and looked at Brutus. “Thank you, I owe you.”
“No, warrior. I would do anything for Gabrielle and she wanted you,” Brutus shrugged and Xena nodded, beginning to understand the depth of the Roman’s feelings for her little bard. She felt the same.
Finally Gabrielle pulled back slightly, taking in the sight of her warrior.
“Gods, I missed you! You were the only thing that kept me alive in that Arena, my love,” the bard whispered.
Brutus grinned and walked back to his horse and pulled off two sets of saddlebags and tossed them at Gabrielle’s feet and then threw the warrior the key to Gabrielle’s chains. The warrior smiled and unlocked the chains slowly, silently cursing that her love ever had to wear them. Then her eyes narrowed and she frowned at the slave collar around Gabrielle’s neck. The bard, realizing what her warrior was looking at, blushed and lowered her head slightly.
Xena raised her chin to force the bard to look her in the eyes. “Nothing you’ve done or had to do could cause me to love you any less,” she promised and Gabrielle fell into her arms again.
“Actually, the collar was a ruse for our traveling. It’s easier to explain a slave than a free woman traveling with you,” Brutus reached behind his saddle and began unwrapping something. “She had already won her freedom. From Caesar himself,” Brutus grinned at the warrior woman’s stunned face.
“What? How?”
Brutus handed Xena the wooden sword with the Latin words burned along the wooden blade “Freedom earned through skill, blood, courage and might. - Julius Caesar.”
Xena was stunned. “By the gods, little one,” she whispered.
“In the bags are official papers freeing both of them and granting them citizenship of Rome, just in case you ever come back to Roman territory and someone recognizes either of them. Also clothes and their usual weapons,” Brutus explained.
“Weapons? You brought my weapons?” Gabrielle asked.
“Yes, I thought you might like them. You’re so damned good with them,” Brutus grinned.
Xena shook her head. The thought of her bard being good with any weapon other than a staff still confused her.
“Xena?” Gabrielle’s voice brought her attention back to her bard.
Xena grinned and whistled a long note. A moment later and Iolaus stepped out of the trees, carrying a bundle in his arms. Gabrielle began crying with joy when the child turned its face towards them and grinned at the sight of her Xena mom, the bluest eyes the bard had ever seen.
“Our daughter, Sasha,” Xena whispered softly as Iolaus, grinning from ear to ear, handed the little infant to Gabrielle.
“Hi, Sasha. I’m Gabrielle,” the bard whispered.
Xena smiled at Brutus’s stunned face.
“She was the only reason I lived without Gabrielle. My daughter and the fact I knew that Gabrielle was still alive, that’s what gave me hope. Thank you, Brutus.”
“My pleasure. Take good care of all of them, warrior,” Brutus turned to leave but Gabrielle’s voice stopped him.
“Brutus!” she handed Sasha over to her mom and trotted over to Brutus. She gently touched his cheek and then hugged him. “Thank you, my friend. I couldn’t be happier,” she whispered.
“I know. I just hope we don’t meet again, Gabrielle. I have a feeling that it wouldn’t be as pleasant. I can’t keep getting around Caesar all the time.”
“I know. I just hope it doesn’t come down to you and Xena,” Gabrielle said sadly.
“I agree, I wouldn’t stand a chance because I couldn’t kill her now,” Brutus said quietly. Then he moved past the small woman and mounted his horse.
“Brutus, you know Caesar will learn from Lycrassis eventually that you had me and let me go. Stay with us,” Gabrielle pleaded as Xena nodded in agreement.
“I’m a Roman, Gabrielle. I know you can’t understand that but it’s in the blood. My first duty is to Her. Caesar has gone too far lately with his ambition and something is stirring in the Senate. I’m hoping he has his hands too full to worry about the two of you. I want to get my business settled here and get back, a shaman in Britannia insisted that I be back in Rome before the Ides of March. My fate is with Rome. Besides, he may not want it to get out that he had you in his grasp and in the Arena itself and granted your freedom by his own hand. Quite a joke on our wanna-be Emperor. Stay well. Vale.”
The Roman rode away, leaving the horses Gabrielle and Nikkita had rode on.
“Come on, Gabrielle. Get acquainted with your daughter and you can introduce us to your trainer,” Xena called and the warrior was delighted at the sleek way the bard moved now, no sign of the pain Gabrielle had been in the last time she had held her little mate. Now there was a dangerous ability behind those movements.
Xena shook her head, there was a lot of catching up to do. She wanted to ask about that short hair too.
She leaned down and nuzzled her mate’s neck as they walked to the horses. “I’ve got a new body to rediscover,” she whispered and grinned at the bard’s shiver and moan of anticipation.
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