Aftermath, An Awakening XXIII
Frau Hunter Ash
(aka Dana Cooper-Kjarr)
*Disclaimers
Ownership:
Repeat after me: I don’t own Xena, Gabrielle, etc. I’m borrowing them for entertainment
purposes, please don’t bother to sue me, you wouldn’t even get court costs.
Violence: no
violence but the aftermath of extreme violence and sexual abuse. Major angst with major character.
Subtext/Alt Fiction/Sex: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship between people
of the same gender and of the opposite sex.
If this offends you or is illegal for you then please leave. Come back when you are older, have an open
mind, moved, or changed your laws.
Feedback:
always welcome and responded to!
Storyline:
After defeating Alti and Bacchus in the Spirit Realm, Gabrielle and Xena
must deal with the after effects of the battle and torture, unexpected results.
The story can stand on its own but it is part of a
series and you might want to catch some of the earlier parts to know exactly
who is whom.
A Visit Home, an Awakening 1 * An Awakening,
Discovery, 2 * Amazon Bonding, Awakening 3 * Healing, 4 * Trial of a Roman, 5 *
Gladiator, Bard, Warrior, Mother; 6 * Reunited, 7 * Ides of March, 8 * Children
of Gods, 9 * Even with Ares, 10 * Settling with Brutus, 11 * Darkness
Awakening, 12 * Amazons North, 13 * Amazon Darkness, 14 * The Wild Hunt, 15 *
Bard Scrolls, 16 * A God’s Twilight, 17 * Chakram, 18 * Death and Rain, 19 *
Beowulf & Grendel, 20 * Nightstalkers, 21 * Blood Darkness, 22 * Aftermath,
23 *
Xena gently shook the bard and began to brush the
hair off Gabrielle’s forehead.
“Xena?” the bard whispered, partly opening her eyes.
“I’m here, little one,” the warrior answered. “It’s okay, you’re safe.”
“Take me home, Xena,” Gabrielle said softly,
“please.”
“I don’t know if we can make it through the snow,”
Xena frowned.
“Please, I want to go home,” the bard reached out
and took Xena’s hand in her own, causing the warrior to smile. It was the first sign of affection and
contact Gabrielle had initiated since the battle with Alti and Bacchus.
The pain in Gabrielle’s voice tore at the warrior’s
heart and she knew she would move the earth to get Gabrielle home if it would
make her mate feel better.
“We’ll go home, Gabrielle,” Xena said softly.
Xena thought about the visions Alti had shown
her. The vision of Gabrielle lying on a
cave floor with a dryad bone sticking out of her chest and Xena lying next to
her, bloody and not moving - that had come true. The vision of Gabrielle enjoying the sexual pleasures of the
bacchanalia had come true.
Xena was worried about the other two visions and was
as anxious as Gabrielle to get back to Greece as well.
It was these visions that seemed to be flooding her mind
as she began to drift off into sleep.
The visions of Gabrielle screaming in pain and covered in sweat and the
sight of Solan looking down at an arrow in his chest before falling.
************************************************************************
The next two days for the bard were spent in Xena’s
arms as the warrior held Gabrielle and comforted her. Trying to soothe away the tears and get Gabrielle to eat
something was difficult but the warrior was surprisingly patient and gentle.
With Sasha’s help in caring for the injured Amazon
Queen, Xena began making plans to leave the North as soon as possible. The snow was deep enough to require a sled
to get further than a day’s travel from the Siberian Amazon village and Xena
was worried. The last time they had
tried a trek in the winter they had almost died but Xena knew they had to try;
Gabrielle wasn’t doing well. The bard
wasn’t sleeping more than two candle-marks at a time before she would awaken
Xena and Sasha screaming from the nightmares.
Most nights were spent holding a crying bard and Xena trying to comfort
her. Gabrielle wasn’t eating either; it
seemed everything she ate made her sick.
Xena sat down in the food hall across from Otere,
trying to thaw out her hands. It was
only a short distance between the huts to the food hall but it was cold enough
now to quickly freeze any uncovered body parts.
The Amazon Queen smiled at her Greek friend and
handed the warrior a mug of warm tea.
“Still plan on trying to get through this?” Otere
asked.
“Yeah,” Xena responded. “Gabrielle is such a wreck; I need to get her home.”
“I know, but it’s extremely dangerous traveling
through this with the first ice storm coming,” Otere said gently.
Xena smiled slightly and nodded.
The warrior jumped slightly as a darkened figure
entered the hall and moved with unnatural swiftness to a table in the far
corner. Otere followed her friend’s
eyes and nodded slightly.
“It’s still difficult to adjust to having vampires
coming and going in the village, even if they are our sister Amazons,” Otere
agreed to the warrior’s unspoken discomfort.
“Yeah, especially after fighting the Bacchae and
vampire spirits with Alti and Bacchus in that damned Spirit Realm,” Xena
growled. She watched as the vampire
reached out to hold the hand of one of the human Amazons, probably a mate or
relative of the vampire.
“How are Gabrielle’s wounds?” Otere asked.
“Healing normally. The back will scar from the lash and
Bacchus’ claws,” Xena’s jaw tightened, remembering how helpless she had been
while Bacchus ran his claw-like fingernails down the already wounded back of
her mate. With everything Gabrielle had
already endured, the pain of claws ripping down through open lash wounds was
enough to break the bard’s spirit. The
body was healing but both Otere and Xena knew Gabrielle’s spirit hadn’t even
begun to heal yet.
“Her wrists are a mess, I don’t know if she’ll lose
the use of her hands. The nerves may be
damaged this time. Even if they aren’t,
it’ll take time to build up the muscles again,” Xena continued.
“Crucifixion,” Otere said thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen one. The Romans and the Chin use it but none of
the Northern tribes do.”
“Tie a person with their arms outstretched to a tree
and then drive spikes through their wrists and ankle bones, leave them hanging
and watch their bodies slowly drown in their own fluids because they can’t
breath,” Xena said bitterly.
The warrior wasn’t surprised when the Amazon Queen
went pale.
“She’s been through that twice?” Otere asked softly.
“Yes, only a handful of people have even survived
once. Fortunately both Bacchus and Caesar left her ankles alone. Driving spikes
through the ankle bone is more painful but leaving them tied makes it harder to
move on the cross and harder to breath,” Xena rambled, remembering watching
Gabrielle struggling to lift herself up by her impaled wrists just to
breath. The Ides of March hadn’t been
lucky for Caesar and Xena didn’t particularly think she and Gabrielle had been
lucky either; Xena had almost lost her mate, again.
Xena shook her head, “I’m sorry, Otere. I didn’t mean to take it out on you and get
so graphic.”
“Its okay, my friend,” Otere simply smiled,
dismissing Xena’s mood. She looked
thoughtful for a moment and Xena waited, wondering what Otere was
thinking. She didn’t have to wait long.
“You haven’t been away from Gabrielle’s side except
to eat and bathe since we got back from the Spirit Realm, have you?”
“Of course not,” Xena said simply.
“You haven’t let it hit you yet, have you?”
Xena felt her jaw tightening. “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.
“You haven’t released that or let anger to let it
hit you yet, have you?” Otere pushed.
Xena hesitated before answering instead of
dismissing Otere’s question gruffly.
Otere was a good friend and the warrior knew she was right.
“No, I haven’t,” Xena admitted.
“Let me send word to clear the practice hall for a candle-mark
and let’s see if we can work some of that anger and pain out of you,” Otere
suggested.
“Maybe later,” Xena said casually and was surprised
when Otere grabbed her wrist.
“Now, Xena,” the Queen insisted.
Slowly the warrior nodded tiredly and got up to
follow the Amazon.
************************************************************************
Gabrielle winced slightly as Sasha applied the healing salve to her wounded back. Xena was right, it was healing but it still hurt like Tartarus. The bard wasn’t used to wounds taking a normal amount of time to heal either. She and Xena had gotten accustomed to having the rapid healing abilities from their inherited parentage.
Healing at a normal human rate hurt, the bard
decided.
Sasha noticed the flinch but continued talking to
her Gabby mum, trying to distract the woman’s focus off the pain. The youngster, wise beyond her years, knew
both her moms were hurting more than they ever had before and didn’t know how
to help.
For once, Sasha’s ability to see into the future was
cloudy. She knew Gabrielle was blaming
herself for giving into the pain and pleasure that Bacchus had put her through
and Xena mom was blaming herself for letting Gabrielle crossover in the first
place. Both of them had known Gabrielle
wasn’t up for the challenge of facing Alti and the vampire Arja but they had
risked it.
Neither of them had ever considered Bacchus might
team up with Alti and put the bard through absolute torture of both pain and
pleasure, breaking the bard down into accepting becoming a full Bacchae.
Now both of them were suffering and Sasha was unsure
how to help.
Sasha yelped and fell backwards as a flash of light
filled the small hut and Gabrielle cried out in agony. Her wrists had suffered seven-inch spikes
driven through them and then supporting her body weight for an untold amount of
time, so trying to grab the sais had been a bad idea.
Both bard and child looked up at the source of the
light as tears streamed down Gabriele’s face.
“Artemis?”
Standing next to the fire was the Greek Goddess of
the Hunt and Moon. Gabrielle’s quick
eyes noticed that the Goddess’ bow was across her back and the sword was
sheathed. Artemis’ relaxed stance and
weapons at rest reassured the bard this wasn’t an emergency. Probably.
The Goddess smiled and knelt down across from the
bard and child.
“Yes, Gabrielle,” she answered, her blue eyes
dancing and soft.
“Are the Black Forest Amazons alright?” Gabrielle
demanded quickly.
“Yes, they are doing fine. They have enough supplies
to get through the winter and are anxious for Hallvor and Eponin to return,”
the Goddess responded easily. Her heart
soared with pride over her pick of Gabrielle as her Chosen. Despite everything the bard had been
through, her first question to her patron Goddess was about her tribe.
“Thank you,” Gabrielle said simply.
“My pleasure,” Artemis smiled and then looked over
into Sasha’s intense blue eyes. “Why
don’t you go find Yakut for a bit, Little One. I need to talk to your Gabby mum
for a bit.”
“What about Mom?” Sasha asked.
“She’s in the practice hall but it’s a private
session,” Artemis answered simply.
“Okay,” the youngster agreed after a moment and
Gabrielle had the feeling the deity and child had communicated something on a
level other than vocal. Sasha leaned
over and kissed Gabrielle’s cheek and grabbed her coat, hat and gloves from
beside the door. “You’ll be okay, Mum?”
“Sure,” Gabrielle said easily, trying to smile for
the child. She lost the smile when she turned
to face the Goddess after Sasha closed the door. “Come to tell me in person I’m no longer your Chosen?”
“Not at all,” Artemis smiled gently and noticed
Gabrielle sigh with relief. “Quite the
opposite, my Chosen. I am proud of you.”
Instead of smiling or accepting the praise the bard
growled with frustration and glared at her wrists. She wanted nothing more than to throw something across the room
or to whack something with her sais.
Artemis noticed her expressions and body language
and nodded. “That’s what Xena is doing
right now, whacking the demons out of a wooden post,” the Goddess commented.
“I can’t even do that!” Gabrielle snapped. “How can you say you’re proud of me?” she
demanded.
“Because I am. Gabrielle, what you went through, no
one else could have made it through,” Artemis tried reasoning with her
champion.
“Artemis, I was with others sexually!” the bard
protest. “And I enjoyed it! I’ve
betrayed Xena!”
“Your body enjoyed most of it,” Artemis
corrected. “You were given drugged wine,
beaten nearly to death and then given pleasure. Your nerves were on overload,
Gabrielle. Some people get addicted to the fine line between pleasure and
pain.”
“I gave in! I accepted Bacchus’ blood!” the bard
shouted, kicking a footstool across the room as she lashed out in anger.
“Did you think you wouldn’t?” Artemis demanded
roughly. “You already are part Bacchae,
I’m amazed you lasted as long as you did! Anyone else would have just given in
immediately at his call.”
“I still gave in!” Gabrielle protested.
“You also found a stronger inner light,” Artemis
countered.
Gabrielle’s anger melted and she sank back onto the
sleeping furs. She looked up at the
Goddess with tears filling her eyes.
“How can I ever expect Xena to touch me again?” she
whispered.
“Come here,” Artemis opened her arms and wasn’t
surprised when the bard scampered over, tears breaking loose. The Goddess settled in and held her champion
close as the girl cried out her grief once again. A look of intense sadness reflected in the blue eyes of the
Goddess. “It’s not over yet, either,”
she whispered.
************************************************************************
Xena growled and whacked the post again and glared
at Otere as the Amazon Queen shook her head.
“What?” the warrior demanded.
“Okay, that’s good for surface anger,” Otere
commented.
“Otere,” Xena growled, the warning clear in her
voice.
“Come on, Xena,” Otere ignored the warning. “You want this to come out when you’re in
bed with Gabrielle? To suddenly have the anger coming between the two of you?”
“Otere, you don’t want me to lose control,” Xena
growled.
Surprisingly, the little Amazon Queen grinned.
“Wanna bet?”
Otere was on Xena faster than the warrior could have
expected and Xena instinctively reacted, sword parrying Otere’s strikes. The Amazon continued with the attack and the
Greek realized within moments that Otere wasn’t holding back.
Xena growled and let her instincts take over,
holding back enough to keep from slashing the younger and less experienced
warrior until they were both breathing heavily.
“Good enough?” Xena demanded, her blue eyes dancing
angrily.
“Nope,” the Amazon grinned. “Tell me, Xena. You saw inside the cave of
Bacchus in the Spirit Realm, how many were there?”
Xena’s eyes narrowed in anger.
“Twenty? Men, maenad servants, and Bacchae?” Otere
said, pretending to be thoughtful. “How
many of them were with Gabrielle during that time?”
The Amazon casually walked a few feet away from the
warrior, ignoring the growl from the Greek’s chest.
“Did you see Bacchus take her? Or were they done
with her by the time you got there? Had they tossed her aside yet?”
The Amazon dived behind a wooden post as she said
the last word and wasn’t surprised when she heard a "thunk" in the
wood behind her head. Otere glanced
around and saw Xena’s famous chakram buried deep in the post.
Queen Otere didn’t even take time to look where the
warrior was as Xena screamed in rage; the Amazon dived out the door and threw
herself against it as Xena’s body hit the other side. Two guards ran up and quickly lent their shoulders to the
wood. Otere quickly locked the door.
Screams and sounds of things breaking flowed through
the door.
“My Queen?” one the guards questioned cautiously.
“Xena is working some things out, leave her in there
until she answers you clearly and calmly,” she instructed and turned to get to
the food hall quickly. She had left her
coat inside the practice hall and wasn’t about to go back inside to get it any
time soon.
************************************************************************
Gabrielle sighed as she sank into the warm water of
the bathing hut and then winced when the water hit the wounds on her back.
“Okay, enough of that!” Artemis said irritably and
held her hands over the bard’s back.
Gabrielle gasped as the pain began easing and then
almost disappearing totally from her back.
“What?” she questioned sleepily.
A candle-mark of crying and howling, her grief and
frustration had left Gabrielle feeling drained but calmer. She hadn’t been surprised when she found
herself and Artemis in the bathing hut; she was too tired to be surprised. She hadn’t slept a full night through in two
weeks.
“Quiet, I can’t heal your hands but your back will
be fine now. Scarred but fine,” Artemis explained and began washing the bard’s
back with a cloth.
“Why can’t you heal my hands?” the bard asked, not
even questioning when a very naked Artemis pulled Gabrielle back into her arms
to relax in the warm water.
“My power is waning quickly here and there’s still
something I need to do,” Artemis said softly.
“Xena won’t want me after this,” the bard repeated
her major fear.
“Yes she will,” Artemis reassured her champion. “It won’t be easy, you’ll both have nightmares
to face, both awake and asleep. Especially during sex.”
“I know, I still have nightmares of the Romans who
raped me,” Gabrielle said softly, leaning her head back on the shoulder of the
Goddess.
“Yes, so does Xena. Now you’ll both have more images
to add to that, unfortunately.”
Artemis wasn’t surprised when she heard the outer
door open and then close and the inner one open immediately after that. The Goddess also wasn’t surprised by the
stunned expression on Otere’s face as she led Xena into the bathing hut.
“Who in Hella are you?” she demanded and felt Xena
raising her head.
The warrior was obviously physically and mentally
exhausted, exactly as Otere figured she would be after the berserker rage Otere
had enticed in Xena. The Amazon Queen
figured time spent in the warm waters of the bathing hut would be good for the
warrior.
She hadn’t counted on finding a very naked Gabrielle
also in those waters and in the arms of a very naked and beautiful woman.
“Artemis?” Otere heard Xena ask.
“Yes,” the Goddess answered in Germanic. “Don’t worry, Otere, I’m not seducing your
friend. I’m helping my champion heal.”
“Artemis is the patron Goddess of the Southern
Amazons,” Xena said in a tired voice.
Gabrielle had apparently fallen asleep in the arms
of her patron Goddess Otere noted.
“Get her into the water before she catches a chill,”
Artemis asked with a playful smile.
Otere blushed profusely. “Okay, let me guess. You
spent time with Gabrielle while I spent time with Xena, both of them working on
getting this out of their systems.”
“You are a smart and an excellent queen,” Artemis
smiled as Otere helped Xena into the water.
Both noticed the warrior groaning with sore muscles and exhaustion as
the water seeped over her body. Artemis
also took in the bloody and ragged hands of the warrior. The Goddess wasn’t sure she wanted to see
the insides of the practice hut. “Now
we both figured the water would be a nice healing touch. So get in behind her
and don’t let her drown.”
Otere shook her head, being around Xena and
Gabrielle certainly made for an interesting life.
************************************************************************
Xena was pleased to feel the familiar body of
Gabrielle next to her sometime later. The
sensation of fur against her skin told the warrior they were in sleeping furs
and were naked.
Xena was surprised to open her eyes and find Otere
sitting by the fire of their hut.
“Hey,” Xena called softly and the Amazon turned from
the fire and grinned at her friend.
“Hey yourself,” she responded, also in a soft
voice. “I’m making tea for you
two. I thought one or both of you might
be waking up soon.”
The warrior frowned, trying to remember. “How long have we been asleep? I remember the bathing hut and Artemis.”
“About nine candle-marks,” Otere grinned at Xena’s
surprised expression. “You both needed
it. First real sleep either of you have
gotten in two weeks since getting here.”
With a start Xena realized Gabrielle was lying in
her usual position in the warrior’s arms, which meant Xena’s arm was under and
across the bard’s back. Xena started to
rise up and took in the fact that she didn’t feel a large bandage under her
arm, just skin.
She looked up and found Otere nodding. “Your Goddess healed Gabrielle’s back,” she
answered the question in Xena’s eyes.
The warrior looked and found bandages still around
her mate’s wrists, however and frowned.
“She said she couldn’t heal those without using too
much of her energy,” Otere explained.
“Where is she?”
“Artemis said she’d be back once both of you were
awake,” the Amazon responded, pouring two mugs of tea as Gabrielle began to
stir in her lover’s arms. “I’ll be back
in a bit.”
“Otere,” Xena’s voice stopped the Amazon Queen,
“Thanks for pushing me.”
“No problem, Xena,” the Amazon grinned. “We’re going to have to pry your chakram out
of that post though.”
“Otere,” Xena’s voice was serious. “I know you took a risk.”
“For a friend, it’s not a risk,” the Amazon answered
and grabbed her cloak by the door.
“What was that about?” a sleepy bard asked in the
warrior’s arms.
“While Artemis was helping you work through some
stuff, Otere was helping me work too,” Xena answered, gently kissing the bard’s
lips.
“Is that why they have to pry your chakram out of
something?” the bard asked with a smile and was pleased when the warrior began
blushing bright red.
“Kinda,” Xena admitted. “Your back is better.”
“Yeah, Artemis healed it,” Gabrielle mentioned,
snuggling closer to her mate.
“Otere said Artemis would be back, what does she
want?” Xena questioned.
“I don’t know, she healed my back, let me rant,
scream and cry,” the bard answered, still in her sleepy voice.
“I love you, Gabrielle,” Xena said softly.
“I love you too, I… can’t get the faces and
sensations out of my head,” the bard said simply.
“I know, it’ll take time,” Xena tried reassuring her
mate.
Instead of letting the couple trek through the snow
to the food hall, Otere arranged for food to be brought to the couple’s
hut. It wasn’t long before the couple
was sitting around their fire with Otere, Yakut and Sasha.
Even though no one said a word about it, everyone
was relieved when Gabrielle actually ate more than a few bites and seemed to be
able to keep the food down.
Outside of the bard’s hearing, her health had been
the center of discussion ever since the return from the Spirit Realm. She was getting far too thin, not sleeping
enough, and was mentally and physically exhausted.
Yakut seemed to be lost in thought as she watched
the bard lean her head onto Xena’s shoulder.
Both Otere and Yakut thought that was an excellent sign of recovery for
the couple but the Greeks still looked haggard.
“Yakut,” Xena snapped, throwing a piece of bread at
the shaman.
“What?” the Amazon asked, coming out of her
thoughts.
“Do you think we can get through the snow if we
leave in two days?” Xena asked.
“I still would advise you staying here for the
winter,” the shaman responded.
Xena felt Gabrielle stiffen slightly. “I know but I think Gabrielle and I need to
be home. We’re both tired.”
“I know, I think you can get through with a dog team
and sled,” Otere answered.
“Then we’ll leave in two days,” Xena said simply.
“How about today?”
Xena’s hand instinctively reached for her chakram,
Otere was on her feet with a sword in hand and Yakut had a dagger in hers.
Xena felt Gabrielle relax and saw Otere do the same.
“Yakut, meet one of our Gods, Artemis,” Xena said
simply as Otere sat down. Yakut, catching
up with the fact that there wasn’t any danger, also sat down as Artemis joined
them.
“Patron Goddess of the Amazons, forest, and moon,”
Gabrielle added.
“And friend to Xena and Gabrielle,” the Goddess
added.
“What did you mean about today?” Xena questioned.
“I can take Gabrielle home today,” Artemis said
simply.
“Without Xena?” the bard immediately demanded.
“I’m growing weak here, Gabrielle,” Artemis
admitted. “Here they don’t worship me
and my powers are waning. I can get you
home safely.”
“Not without Xena,” Gabrielle said firmly.
“Little One,” Xena began to protest.
“No, I spent almost two Springs away from you,”
Gabrielle snapped, sitting upright, her green eyes flashing.
“I want you home and safe,” Xena countered.
“I’m not leaving you!”
“I do have a question for you, Artemis,” Xena said
thoughtfully. “Where were you when
Gabrielle was in that nightmare with Bacchus?”
Gabrielle frowned deeply, considering the question
and wondering if she really wanted to know the answer.
“I can barely function here right now. Healing Gabrielle tasked me,” Artemis
admitted. “I’m sorry, I owe you both my
existence and I want to help but I couldn’t break into the Spirit Realm.”
“I’m not leaving without Xena, I’m still not feeling
well and I want to be near her,” Gabrielle protested.
“Please, I swear it’ll be safer than trying the
snow,” Artemis argued.
“Gabrielle?” Xena questioned.
“No, not without you, please,” Gabrielle said, her jaw
set in a familiar stubborn line.
“She’ll be protected and healed when I get her back
to Greece,” Artemis assured all of them.
“Both me and Apollo will watch over Gabrielle until you get back.”
Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed as she saw how
thoughtfully Xena had become.
“Xena,” she growled, the warning evident in her
voice.
Otere and Yakut held very still as their Greek
friends and a deity argued back and forth.
“Gabrielle, if they’ll heal you,” Xena argued but
the bard cut her short.
“I’d rather risk the snow and take longer to heal
than be away from you again,” Gabrielle said firmly.
“Gabrielle,” Artemis’ voice brought the bard’s
attention back to the Goddess. “The healers haven’t told you and neither has
Xena because of your emotional state, the nerves in your wrists were damaged.”
The bard suddenly looked much younger as she glanced
down at her bandaged wrists.
“My hands?” she whispered.
“If I don’t get you to Greece where Apollo can heal
you before the wounds heal over, then you won’t have use of your hands,”
Artemis said bluntly.
“Then take her back,” Xena said firmly.
“Xena, no,” Gabrielle said softly.
“I’ll follow as quick as I can,” Xena reached out
and pulled Gabrielle into her arms.
“Don’t pass this up, Little One.
I love you more than life.”
Before Gabrielle could protest again, the warrior
nodded her head at the Goddess and everyone blinked at the sudden bright light
that filled the hut.
************************************************************************
Cyrene dropped a tray of ceramic goblets as a bright
light filled the empty main room of the inn.
When her eyes cleared she was surprised to see Gabrielle and a tall
woman standing several feet from her.
Gabrielle blinked and looked around, apparently also
in surprise. The bard spun to glare at
the woman in hunting leathers.
“Artemis!” she shouted. “Damnit!”
Deities showing up whenever Gabrielle or Xena was
around didn’t surprise Cyrene any more.
My daughter and daughter-in-law
seemed to have more to do with the Greek Gods than some priests, she
thought.
“Sorry, Gabrielle, this is for the best,” Artemis
shrugged and disappeared.
“Xena!” the bard shouted, raising her hands in
anger.
After a moment she looked over and smiled slightly
at Cyrene. Then the inn-keeper got a
good look at the bard and was dismayed at what she saw.
The bard quickly sat down in the nearest chair and
Cyrene went behind the bar and grabbed two unbroken mugs and a pitcher of
cider.
“Gabrielle? What’s going on?” she asked as she sat
down with the bard.
“Where to begin? A village stricken with poisoned
grain, some of my Southern Amazons are alive, and then we dealt with a monster
with some Vikings. Next we went to the
Northern Amazons and found vampires were attacking them. We had to fight Alti in the Spirit Realm and
Bacchus was also there. I got hurt,
Artemis promised to bring me back to Greece and heal me. I didn’t agree on leaving Xena behind but
here I am,” Gabrielle explained and shrugged at Cyrene’s frustrated look.
“That’s it in a nutshell,” the bard responded.
“Is Xena okay?”
“Yes, some bruises and scratches but okay,”
Gabrielle finally had a faint smile. “Can I talk about this later?”
“First, how is Sasha and what happened to your
hands?” Cyrene asked.
“Sasha is great and has grown another two
inches. My hands, I was crucified in
the Spirit Realm by Bacchus,” Gabrielle said softly.
Cyrene didn’t say a word but pulled the bard into
her arms as Gabrielle’s anger and resolve broke down.
Cyrene sensed there was more to the bard’s injuries
and haggard appearance.
************************************************************************
Xena resisted letting the tears fall from her eyes
as she watched Gabrielle and Artemis disappear. The warrior sat down heavily and Sasha crawled into her
arms.
“I hate dealing with Gods,” the warrior muttered.
Otere and Yakut had no answer for the warrior and
quietly left the hut.
Xena tried to smile for Sasha as her daughter hugged
her.
“Was this a good idea?” the warrior asked softly,
not sure if she was asking Sasha’s opinion or perhaps talking to the air.
“It’s what the Gods wanted,” Sasha said simply,
pulling back to look at her mom and wasn’t surprised when Xena frowned.
“I don’t usually care what the Gods want,” the
warrior commented bitterly. “Because of Ares, a God, I almost lost Gabrielle so
many times.”
“You also got me,” Sasha grinned.
“That’s the best thing Ares ever gave me!” Xena
agreed, hugging her daughter tightly.
After a moment Sasha got up and poured some more tea
for her mom and herself. “You know mum’s going to be mad,” she said simply.
“That’s an understatement,” Xena grinned
ruefully. They both knew Gabrielle’s
temper. “What say we start getting
things together and head home?”
Sasha agreed with a grin and a nod.
Xena’s eyes saddened as she watched a cheerful Sasha
begin gathering their things together.
The child was far too young to have lived through and seen everything
she had by this early age.
The warrior didn’t regret keeping Sasha with her but
at times she wished she could have given her daughter a different life. Xena had thought she was doing the best
thing for Solan when she left him as an infant with the centaurs. She regretted that decision even though it
was the right one; she knew if she had tried to keep him they would both
probably have ended up dead.
Xena growled, it seemed like she and Gabrielle never
got more than a month or so to rest and try and build a normal life. Now since she knew they were both immortal
the warrior wondered if the conflicts and hard times were going to go on
forever.
************************************************************************
After a bit Cyrene handed the bard her apron to wipe
her eyes with and called for Torris to bring food for the bard.
“When is Xena coming home?” Cyrene began, hoping
that she could get a little more detailed information out of the bard.
“As soon as she can get through the snow,” Gabrielle
answered, smiling at the sight of Torris appearing with a tray of food. She was hoping she could finally keep food
down.
“That could be another two moons or more,” Cyrene
complained and immediately noticed Gabrielle’s pained expression.
“I know,” the bard muttered.
“You’ve both been gone for seasons,” Cyrene
commented. “I’ve missed you.”
“We’ve missed you and everyone, too,” Gabrielle
smiled and took a bit of food with some hesitation.
Cyrene’s sharp eyes noticed Gabrielle’s hesitation
and the thinness of the bard.
“Having trouble eating?” she asked, her voice filled
with concern.
Gabrielle began blushing a bright red and
immediately felt her stomach turn over.
She jumped to her feet so quickly that she knocked over the chair as she
dashed outside, her body racked with vomiting again.
Cyrene followed her daughter-in-law outside and
handed the bard a wet cloth as Gabrielle tried to stand up on unsteady legs.
“Sorry,” Gabrielle muttered.
“How long as this been going on?” Cyrene asked as
they sat down on a bench outside the tavern door.
“Since we returned from fighting Alti and Bacchus,”
Gabrielle said reluctantly.
“Gabrielle, what is going on? You and Xena can’t get
sick and yet you are?”
The bard’s green eyes filled with tears and she
wouldn’t meet Cyrene’s eyes.
“The healers and everyone think it’s a physical
reaction to what happened with Alti and Bacchus,” Gabrielle whispered.
“Tell me what happened,” Cyrene encouraged, leading
Gabrielle back inside into the warm inn.
At first Cyrene thought Gabrielle wasn’t going to
tell her but then the bard broke down once again and slowly the story emerged.
Xena’s mother thought she had heard the worst her
daughter and daughter-in-law could ever be put through. After Gabrielle had disappeared
and it was revealed she had been a Roman slave and gladiator and Cyrene thought
it couldn’t get much worse than that.
Now this torture and sexual abuse was worse and mostly because of
Gabrielle’s guilt about it.
Cyrene could tell the memory of it was tearing
Gabrielle apart inside and out.
“Gabrielle, you did nothing wrong,” Cyrene said
softly, holding the small blonde in her arms.
“I’m partly to blame for this.”
“What?” Gabrielle sat up, attempting to wipe the
tears from her face.
“I told Xena when your Bacchae blood started coming
to the surface you might be easily called by Bacchus, especially in the Fall or
Spring.
I even mentioned that you might not be able to
resist a bacchanalia,” Cyrene informed her.
“Maybe I should have warned against Spirit Realm travel.”
“It’s not your fault,” Gabrielle smiled
slightly. “We didn’t know Bacchus was
there.”
“Then it’s not your fault either,” Cyrene countered.
Gabrielle frowned, unable to argue, she realized had
fallen into a trap of logic.
Cyrene looked up as Torris walked into the main room
and gently hugged the bard.
“Want me to send word to Solan and Reija that
Gabrielle’s back? And where’s Xena?” he asked.
“She’ll be a moon or so behind me,” Gabrielle
continued frowning. “I took a short cut
home.”
“Yes, send word to Solan and Reija and have them
come here,” Cyrene smiled and Torris went off to find one of the kitchen
servants.
“What about Joxer? He’ll want to know I’m back,”
Gabrielle mentioned.
Cyrene grinned.
“I’ve got news for you!”
“What?” Gabrielle demanded as Cyrene helped her out
of the heavier leather jacket and over shirt, glad to be left with her woolen
trousers and lighter tunic.
“Someone that looked just like Xena showed up one day
and grabbed Joxer, kissing the daylights out of him,” Cyrene laughed.
“Meg,” Gabrielle joined in the laughter.
“So we found out,” Cyrene agreed. “They left a week later after getting
married.”