Old Problems in the Night,
Awakening 26
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:
Not much this round. Rate PG-13
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: Gabrielle, Xena, Iolaus, Hercules and
Asher try to settle down in the North to raise Asher but old problems have a
way of creeping up on them.
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 who.
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 * Night Stalkers, 21, * Blood Darkness, 22 *
Aftermath, 23 * Here Comes Trouble, 24 * Northern Scrolls, 25 * Old Problems in
the Night, 26
Gabrielle laughed softly and threw a piece of flat
bread at her mate. Xena’s eyes blinked
and she began blushing at the sound of Gabrielle’s laughter.
“Reality to Xena?” Gabrielle teased.
Xena, having been busted at not paying attention to
her bard, growled softly and saw a chance for distraction. The warrior grinned and moved out of the
chair with the grace of a huge stalking cat and grabbed Asher as he attempted
to crawl out of sight under the table.
The toddler squealed with delight as the warrior pulled him onto her
lap.
“I’m sorry, Gabrielle,” Xena said softly, relieved
that her mate’s green eyes were bright with humor and not irritation at
her. “What were you saying?”
“I was asking if you realized it’s been an entire
turn of seasons since we’ve been here?” Gabrielle repeated. The warrior bard felt whatever irritation
she might have for the distracted warrior melt away as she watched Xena with
their son. Gabrielle knew that Xena
could terrify most anyone they came across with just a look but they didn’t see
the many sides of the warrior that Gabrielle felt privileged in seeing. Gabrielle wasn’t even sure if Xena’s mother
Cyrene would ever believe how goofy her daughter could get at times. Or how romantic, soft, gentle, or even how
emotional.
There was even a few times when Gabrielle caught
Hercules shaking his head with an amused grin on his face as he watched Xena
with Asher or her interacting with Gabrielle now that no one else was around.
Xena had reminded Gabrielle when the bard questioned
her about Hercules’ surprise that the demi-God had been searching all of Greece
for the missing bard when Xena gave birth to Sasha. Her half-brother had missed out on watching Xena raise the small
child until Gabrielle had returned to them almost two full spring seasons
later.
Gabrielle looked around the decent sized cabin and
smiled. It had been a year of struggle
for the two couples, especially with Gabrielle having just given birth and
almost dying during it. Asher was a
handful when he finally learned to crawl and had to be watched,
constantly. Xena had finally gotten
exasperated when the curious youngster had banged his head on a table when he
tried standing up on his own. Gabrielle
and Iolaus had laughed for almost a quarter candle mark when Xena came back
from a morning spent in the work shed with a brand new harness. Only this harness wasn’t for a horse, it was
for her errant son and had a ring at the cross section at the back for a
rope. Asher hadn’t thought being
confined to a limited space was funny but the adults had been amused at his
frustrated looks and Xena’s satisfied and smug look.
The bard was pleased with the life they were
building with Hercules and Iolaus.
They had cleared the land enough for a good harvest
of grain, vegetables and hay. Sheep and
two goats grazed in a small pasture area, cows and horses were in another area
and chickens clucked a way in a small pen along side the barn. It was getting close to the winter season
and a couple of wild pigs had already been hunted and killed along with one
cow. The meat had been salted and the
harvest of vegetables and fruits preserved as well. The last harvest of the grain was coming up soon and the Greeks
didn’t think they would need much help from the larger settlement of Axel,
their adopted Viking family.
Xena’s words brought Gabrielle back from her musing
with a smile.
“Yeah, this one growing by leaps and bounds reminds
me everyday,” the warrior grinned at her wife.
Gabrielle sighed, feeling content. It had taken all four of them some time to
actually relax in their new home. It
wasn’t the hard work, none of them were strangers to work and welcomed it. It was the warrior paranoia of looking over
your shoulder for bandits all the time and waiting for the sword to drop out of
the sky if you stayed in one place for too long.
Even the time at home in Amphipolis had been
difficult for the couple. Xena and
Gabrielle made a home for themselves with Gabrielle helping Cyrene at the inn
and Xena working with the local blacksmith and training the militia.
It seemed like the Elysian Fields to the
couple. It was just the life both of
them avoided by fleeing to the road when they were young but now they found
themselves drawn back to and welcomed it.
Gabrielle still hated making bread but had found making a home for Xena,
Solan, Sasha and herself satisfying.
Romans, Ares, Bacchae cravings and the need to take
care of things in distant lands always interfered with that quiet life,
though. A simple day could turn into
trouble in an instant and it seemed to follow the couple.
Gabrielle wondered if it was that way for others or
just her, her mate and their friends?
The bard had seen villages that seemed to exist without too much trouble
or very little of it. Then there was
Xena and Gabrielle; merely walking into a town could start a fight. The bard
wondered if it was part of that Destiny thing for the two of them.
Just walking by a small troop of Roman soldiers one
day had nearly gotten the bard arrested and Xena into a major fight with
them. They had seen the scars on the
bard’s back from the lashings and the brand she had received at the Gladiator
school and took her for a runaway slave.
Just another day and close
call for the couple, the bard reflected.
She even felt the uneasy feelings when they tried to
settle down in the cabin. All of them
worked hard, even Iolaus with his crippled arm had put in a good day’s work by
sunset but Gabrielle caught all of them glancing to the woods, their hands
never quite far from a weapon.
Little by little the small group began to
relax. Of course hands still rested on
weapons whenever anyone approached their homestead, mostly men traveling to do
trading with other steadings. Iolaus
sold several barrels of his ale and had several kegs of mead fermenting as
well. He traded a few of the barrels
for enough feed for the animals for the winter and a new spinning loom for
Gabrielle.
With Xena’s “many skills”; Hercules’ strength,
Iolaus’ cleverness and Gabrielle’s stubbornness, they had managed to turn the
good sized cabin into a very nice home and had a thriving farm after only a
full turn of the seasons.
Gabrielle smiled and pulled Asher in her arms and
the little boy cooed happily while he snuggled next to her.
Xena also became reflective as she watched her mate
and their child. This was one time she
thanked the deities for their magical involvement in their lives. If not for the Forest Spirits of the North,
she might not know what Gabrielle was like as a mother and they wouldn’t have
their son.
Xena was not amused with the thought of either of
them conceiving children the old fashioned way by having sex with a male. She still had her own nightmares about the
sexual abuse the bard had suffered through during their travels together,
especially the most recent at the hands of Bacchus. The guilt of not protecting Gabrielle from all of it still
chipped away at the warrior’s mind and soul.
Xena was unaware of her growl and the look of anger
on her face but Gabrielle caught it and had a excellent idea of what was going
on in her warrior’s mind. After all
their years together, she had gotten pretty good at reading Xena’s moods. Gabrielle was pretty sure the cause of the
scowl and the frown was either Bacchus or Alti. Xena didn’t’ blame her for anything that happened in the Spirit Realm
but it was still a nightmare for both of them to live with. Sexual assault, torture and Gabrielle
turning into a full bacchae was enough to drive Xena into whacking anything in
her sight and swearing vengeance daily against Bacchus after watching Gabrielle
go through the nightmares that still plagued the bard. Too many times the bard had awakened to find
Xena gently holding and comforting her, the nightmare still fresh in her
mind. The warrior would cuddle her
while Gabrielle cried herself back to sleep.
Now, after Asher’s birth and a year of carving out a
home in the wilds of Germania, the nightmares were easing up for all of them.
Xena looked over at Hercules and Iolaus as the
demi-god helped his mate put on his boots and smiled. They each had their demons and their past, Xena thought. The loss of Hercules’ family, the crippling
of Iolaus, Gabrielle’s assaults and slavery, and Xena had way too many things
to make up for to list, she cursed.
Maybe after all the winters they had been through,
the Fates would ease up on them and let them have a break and a chance at a
normal life.
It pained Xena to see the gray appearing in Iolaus
hair and beard compared to youthful faces of Gabrielle and Hercules. It was one thing she didn’t look forward to,
Iolaus was going to continue to age while his mate and best friends
didn’t.
Xena wasn’t sure being an immortal was all that
great of a prize and the warrior continued to scowl. Xena, Hercules and Gabrielle would never age, would never grow
old, never get sick and wouldn’t die without outside trauma. The same couldn’t be said for their friends
and families. Already Cyrene was
feeling the effects of raising three children, running a tavern alone all those
winters and was slowing down. It was
getting harder for her to haul the kegs of ale and wine back and forth.
The warrior felt tears springing to her eyes as she
remembered her family. Solan and his
wife Reija had been planning on taking over the inn slowly until Cyrene could
no longer work. They were going to
continue the inn and take care of his grandmother.
Callisto had shattered those plans for the future by
killing Solan and crippling Reija.
Kidnapping their son, Kiryk, had just finished destroying the family,
especially when they couldn’t find him.
He was still lost these three Spring seasons later.
Now with Solan dead, Reija had returned to an Amazon
tribe and Cyrene was left to deal with the Tavern. Xena felt guilty whenever she thought about it. She knew that it had been expected of her
when she was younger to someday take over and to help her mother. Taking the road to a path of becoming a
feared warlord hadn’t been what Cyrene had wanted for her daughter. Continuing a path of being a warrior wasn’t
going to lead Xena back to that inn either, and although they both knew and
accepted it, that didn’t make it any easier to live with the guilt though.
Xena thanked the gods that her older brother Torris
was more than willing to take over the inn in addition to his own merchant
business with his wife.
The warrior didn’t know how she was going to handle watching her Mom get older and finally die. What if Asher didn’t inherit his parent’s immortality? How were they supposed to watch him grow up, live his life and die while they didn’t age a day?
Xena growled.
This would be the downside of
being immortal.
************************************************************************
Hercules walked up beside the bard as she continued
feeding the livestock. She looked up
from the pitchfork of hay and smiled.
“Where Iolaus?” she asked.
“Xena is helping him with dinner while Asher plays
under their feet,” he said as he continued smiling.
“Do you think we’ve got enough supplies? It’s
turning cold,” she asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” the demi-god responded as he
leaned on the fence railing. “Ready to
be cooped up for the winter with a toddler?”
Hercules laughed at the bard’s expression of joy and
then a look of stunned realization of how many candle-marks that would mean
with the handful of tiny terror known as Asher.
“Do we have a choice?” Gabrielle grinned. “It’ll be good.”
“Yeah, with the four of us taking care of him. We’ve been on the road for so long, so many
seasons. It’ll be good for us to have a
normal life for awhile,” Hercules agreed.
************************************************************************
Gabrielle mumbled and reached out for Xena. It registered after a moment that Xena
wasn’t in bed next to her. The warrior
bard sat up and realized there was movement and noises in the cabin that seemed
out of place.
She jumped up and checked on Asher, asleep in a bed
not far from theirs. Gabrielle breathed
a sigh of relief as she took in his sleeping face, blonde hair falling over his
forehead.
Gabrielle moved towards the sounds and frowned as
she took in the sight of Xena and Hercules at an open door.
Xena’s sharp ears heard Gabrielle approaching, even
on bare feet. “Gabrielle, quick!”
Gabrielle knelt down beside Xena as Hercules moved
back into the cabin to light a lamp.
The bard could see a figure lying in the doorway. All she could make out was that the figure
wasn’t moving and was dressed in Northern clothing. Her Bacchae senses could smell fresh blood and quite a bit of it.
Xena’s hands were moving over the figure, seeking
injuries and signs of life. Hercules
returned with a light and Xena carefully turned the wounded figure over. She heard Gabrielle gasp as both of them
recognized Hallvor, the Northern Viking of Gabrielle’s Black Forest Amazon
tribe.
The woman was unconscious and badly beaten.
“Herc, help me get her inside,” Xena
instructed. “Carefully, I don’t know
where she’s hurt. Gabrielle, bar the
door and set arrows and bows at the windows, just in case she was followed.”
“Right,” Gabrielle agreed and moved to grab her
boots from the bedroom and then the weapons.
After finishing that she went to the table where
they had laid Hallvor. She watched as
Xena and Hercules cut leather lashes holding clothing together and fur in place
and striped the Viking down to simple woolen tunic and trousers. Then Xena and Gabrielle both began examining
the warrior as Hercules lit another lamp.
“Where’s Iolaus, Herc?” Gabrielle asked as she ran
her hands over one of Hallvor’s legs.
“His arm and hand were hurting bad tonight so he
took some herbs to help him sleep,” the demi-god answered.
“Change of weather coming, seeps into the bones as
we get older,” Xena commented.
“Not for us,” Hercules muttered, once again reminded
that he was probably going to watch his mate grow old and die while not age
another day himself.
“We need to cut the rest of the clothing off,” Xena
stated and Gabrielle agreed with a nod.
“Herc, grab some blankets and put on some water for some tea. She’s awfully cold already.”
Once striped and in the light of two lamps, the
Greeks were dismayed at the sight of their friend. Whoever had given her the beating had done it recently and they
had been very serious in attempting to kill the warrior.
Xena began muttering. “Her legs aren’t broken but
that ankle might be; the swelling is bad.
Her ribs are cracked on the left side and her left forearm is broken,
probably from fending off a blow.
There’s a broken nose, bruised eyes along with that. A good lump on the right side of her head
and she’s bleeding internally, that’s where the blood from her mouth and nose are
coming from.”
“Can we do anything?” Gabrielle questioned, grabbing
some of the water and a clean cloth, beginning to wipe away the road grime,
battle dust and blood from the Viking.
She also dapped at the fresh blood trickling from her friend’s mouth.
“Not much except splint the arm, wrap the ankle and
hope she wakes up from the blow to the head,” Xena admitted.
“What about the bleeding?” Hercules asked. They had
all seen too many deaths from bleeding on the inside. A warrior’s fear; wounds like that couldn’t be treated and could
be fatal more times than not.
“Keep an eye on it and hope it doesn’t kill her
before the head wound does,” Xena said grimly.
“Who or what could have done this?” Gabrielle
growled.
“Human, the cuts are from a blade and the bruises
from a blunt object, either the flat of a blade or a war hammer and fists. Maybe even some feet, that’s probably what
caved in those ribs of hers,” Xena frowned.
“Had to be more than one,” Hercules commented. “Her necklace and bracers identify her as
Viking and Amazon; they’re usually tough to take down.”
“She’s one of mine,” Gabrielle informed him. “This is Hallvor, a Viking who joined the
Black Forest Amazons after leaving her tribe.”
“How did she find us?” Xena wondered aloud.
“Herc, could you keep an eye outside?” Gabrielle
asked her best male friend. “She
couldn’t have gotten far like this.”
“You bet.”
Xena began rummaging through Hallvor’s clothes while
Gabrielle began bandaging the warrior’s wounds.
“What are you looking for?” Gabrielle asked.
“Maybe a message for you. She may have been on the way to find us,” Xena commented and
Gabrielle looked thoughtful.
“Gods, why would anyone attack Hallvor?” she
muttered.
“I don’t know,” Xena complained. “All we can do is wait and see if she has
some answers.”
“I hate waiting with wounded friends,” the bard
muttered back.
************************************************************************
Dawn was finally turning the sky purple when Hallvor
began to stir, slightly. Xena smiled
somewhat in relief.
“I don’t think she’ll give into the concussion, now
we just worry about the rest of her wounds,” she muttered and glanced up at the
other two people in the room.
Gabrielle was putting water on for tea and Hercules
was still watching outside the window, his head swaying with boredom and lack
of sleep. They had been working hard
with the last bit of the harvest before the first frost and had been hoping for
a few days of rest when they found Hallvor on their doorstep.
Gabrielle walked over and watched Hallvor toss
lightly in her wounded sleep.
“This is a good sign,” she commented.
“Yes,” Xena agreed, checking for fresh blood around
the Viking’s mouth and nodded encouragingly when she didn’t find any.
“Any idea when she’ll wake up?” the bard asked,
pulling the wool blanket tighter around her shoulders. Hercules had built up
the fire but there was still a chill in the air.
“No, not really,” Xena frowned.
"We've got company and they're not
friendly," Hercules announced, reaching for a bow next to the window.
"I'll wake Iolaus to watch over Asher,"
Gabrielle muttered, dashing towards the room he shared with Hercules.
Xena's eyes narrowed as she moved up next to the
demi-god.
A group of riders stopped just outside the tree line
of their clearing. In front of them was
a man with several hunting dogs, large wolfhounds that were howling and barking
as they pulled at their leads.
The riders were obviously Northern by their clothes
and weapons; Xena and Hercules quickly evaluated and counted ten riders and
three on foot including the dog handler.
They brandished mostly spears and swords among them and all carried
shields.
"I don't see any archers," Hercules
commented, grabbing his fur cloak.
"Hail the steading!" the lead rider stood
up slightly in his stirrups and called to the cabin. Xena and Hercules quickly took closer note of him.
The Viking was probably as tall as Hercules with
reddish blonde hair that reminded Xena of Gabrielle's when they first began
traveling. He had a thick but trimmed
beard, much in Roman style and his hair was also shorter than most
Vikings. He wore a wolf fur cloak held
together with a gold cloak pin and his bracers were silver and gold. The hilt of his sword was also inlaid with
gold and silver which caused Xena to frown.
"Prince, a Jarl," she muttered and
Hercules nodded as he opened the door, sword in hand.
Xena grabbed up the bow he left and notched an arrow
as she felt Gabrielle re-enter the room and take up a position at the other
window.
"Iolaus is watching the back, so far they
haven't split up and surrounded us," the bard informed her mate.
"Good, so far they're behaving."
"Greetings," Hercules said simply in
Germanic.
"A blessing of the gods upon your home and
kin," the Jarl responded. "We
seek an outlaw, one of the hated werserkers.
The dogs have tracked her this far, have you seen a wounded woman
traveling this way?"
"Oh gods, this is not good," Gabrielle
muttered, notching an arrow herself.
"We have taken in a wounded member of our
family," Hercules answered and wasn't surprised when the Jarl looked
stunned.
"Her former name was Hallvor, she travels under
the name Jaeger," the Jarl said flatly.
"Her family is many winters dead."
"Hallvor was adopted into an Amazon tribe, the
tribe of my sister," Hercules answered.
"Amazons?" the Jarl was clearly
puzzled. "You're Roman?"
"Greek, actually," Hercules grinned. "Also Northern, adopted into the clan
of Axel, of the family of Eddval Skull Splitter, Jarl of this region."
"She was declared outlaw many spring seasons
ago, you cannot offer her sanctuary," the Jarl declared. "I don't care if you have adopted her
or not, it was after she was declared outlaw."
"And who approaches my home without properly
telling me his name and his lineage and wants respect from me?" Hercules
demanded.
Xena pulled back slightly on the bowstring as the
Jarl began blushing in anger.
"I am Jarl Svenkender, brother to the Jarl that
Hallvor brutally killed and I haven't heard your name or lineage, Greek,"
Jarl Svenkender growled.
"I am Hercules among my people, here I am known
as Herkavor the Strong," Hercules responded, still with a smile but Xena
knew from his voice that he was tense.
"My mother was an honorable woman and my father is the mighty Zeus,
God Supreme of Olympus."
Xena grinned as most of the Vikings shifted
uncomfortably. The Vikings weren’t
accustomed to meeting demi-gods, Greek or otherwise.
"You cannot deny my family claim!" Jarl
Svenkender snapped. "She is outlaw
and cannot be granted safe keeping.
Turn her out."
Xena and Gabrielle could well imagine Hercules
losing his smile.
"She is of my sister's tribe," Hercules
stated firmly.
Gabrielle sighed and reached for the door.
"Gabrielle, Hallvor is my friend, let me,"
Xena suggested.
"I'm the Queen, Xena," Gabrielle said
firmly. "She's my responsibility
and my family, just as much as Eponi or any of the others."
Xena pulled back the bowstring as her mate stepped
out onto the porch, the warrior's eyes watching the Vikings closely for any sudden
movements.
"I am Bree the Dancer," Gabrielle
announced. "I am Queen of the
Black Forest Amazons and Jaeger is one of my tribe, she is under my protection
in my home."
"You have a warrior's name for a small
one," Jarl Svenkender grinned a vicious smile.
"Many have made that mistake, they sang their
death song while I wiped my blade free of their blood," Gabrielle growled
back and Xena's eyebrows rose in amusement and surprise. She hadn't expected her little bard to be
able to taunt so well. Then again, Gabrielle was a bard first, the warrior part
came later, Xena reflected.
Jarl Svenkender's eyes narrowed in anger while his
men laughed at the clever retort.
"My fight is not with you, small one," the
Jarl frowned. "Send out Hallvor
and we'll end this and be on our way."
"Not with one of my Amazons," Gabrielle
said firmly and felt Hercules shifting on his feet next to her, ready to move
forward or back into the cabin.
"You aren't on Amazon land and I don't
recognize your rights, I will give you until sundown to decide," Jarl Svenkender stated.
"Then you risk war with my family and those families under
mine."
Xena relaxed her hold on the bow as the Vikings
turned back to the forest once more. The warrior turned back to the inside of
the cabin at a growl and she was surprised to see Hallvor half sitting up
watching her. The warrior quickly
crossed the room and began examining the wounded Amazon as Hallvor collapsed
back onto the furs.
Xena heard Gabrielle and Hercules enter and gather
close.
"I heard," Hallvor muttered.
"Quiet," Xena ordered and continued
feeling along the Viking's body now that Hallvor was awake and could tell her
where it hurt, it made examining her easier but more painful for the Amazon.
After a moment Xena straightened up a bit.
"The internal bleeding has stopped and she'll
live. With those ribs bound tightly, it
may help the lung heal," Xena announced, helping Hallvor sit up a little
to slowly drink some water. "You
won't be doing any running or riding for awhile, though."
"Nein," Hallvor agreed and glanced at
Gabrielle. "My Queen, I'm sorry
for bringing them here. I thought I had
lost them in the river two days ago."
"How long have you been traveling with these
wounds?" Gabrielle questioned closely.
"I don't know anymore," Hallvor
admitted. "I was in the north
selling some of the harvest of the wild berries in our forest and some of the
summer hides for grain, and bringing you news of Reija. Somehow Sven recognized me and set his men
and dogs on me."
"He must have been just a boy when that
happened!" Xena growled. Like
Xena, Gabrielle and Hercules, Hallvor didn't look her age. To outsiders she looked barely twenty
summers old, in reality she was closer to double that. It seemed that the werserker wolf blood in
her slowed her aging process down while their immortality status stopped the
aging of the Greeks.
"He was barely 10 summers old when I was to
marry his brother, but he remembered and hates me," Hallvor agreed.
"Gods, that was so long ago!" Gabrielle complained. "I wasn't much older than
Svenkender."
Xena smirked at being reminded that she was older
than Gabrielle.
“What about Reija?” Gabrielle demanded.
“She’s healing well,” Hallvor responded. “She still won’t use that leg again but
she’s planning on going out in the Spring with one of our Sister Amazons and
look for Kiryk.”
“Where will she look?” Xena frowned. “We don’t have a clue where to look for
him.”
“Reija plans to just start looking, she doesn’t
really have a plan,” Hallvor answered.
“Knowing Callisto’s warped way of thinking, he could
be anywhere,” Gabrielle complained.
“How will she know him if it takes months to find him?”
“She told me about a birthmark just under his left
ear, almost like a star,” Hallovr muttered.
Both Xena and Gabrielle nodded.
“Why the hell is this Jarl so bent on revenge for
something that happened when he was so young?” Gabrielle complained, bringing
the conversation back to the original subject.
Xena reflected that it was probably closer to twenty
five summers when she had been traveling in the North and had found a wounded
Viking woman outside a small town fort.
She had cared for the Viking and discovered that the woman, Hallvor, had
been outcast by her tribe and declared an outlaw.
The warrior looked over and saw Hallvor closing her
eyes, her jaw tight with pain.
"Gabrielle, make up some of that tea with the
sleeping powder, she needs more sleep to heal from this," Xena instructed
and the Queen of the Amazons moved back to the fire.
"I'm going to say good morning to Iolaus and
Asher," Hercules declared, leaving the warrior to watch over the wounded
Amazon.
Gabrielle sat down and reflected back on what the
young looking Viking Amazon told them before about her past. Hallvor had married the minor local Jarl out
of duty to family and people. It was
expected to marry, produce children and provide a safe and good home by both
parties. It wasn't uncommon to be
attracted to others outside the marriage and it was up to the married couple to
decide how to handle it. Most times
husbands had servants or close male friends for companionship and relied on
their wives to fulfill marital duty, not necessarily to provide love to the
marriage. It wasn't uncommon for the
wife to have close female friends, servants or even to be allowed a close male
friend as long as duty to house and marriage came first.
Hallvor had been what was known among the Vikings as
a Shield Maiden, a female warrior chosen by Odin, the AllFather of the Norse
gods. She was also known as a werserker,
a warrior seized with battle madness from the god. Insane and deadly in a battle.
Knowing Hallvor was in love with his sister and
attracted to her more than himself hadn't been allowed though and the Jarl
turned out to be very jealous. The
night before the wedding he had found them together and killed his own sister
and then attempted to rape the young Hallvor.
It was then everyone discovered that Hallvor was a
full werserker, cursed and gifted by the god Odin with the ability to change
into a mixture of wolf and human.
Cursed and blessed with superhuman strength, battle insanity that made
her almost immune to wounds at the time, and a desire to kill when in
wolf-human form. Watching her lover die
and being attacked and sexually assaulted had caused Hallvor's mind to snap
like it never had before. She changed
into wolf-human form and ripped the Jarl to shreds.
Because the Jarl had killed his own kin and had
attempted to rape the young female warrior, Hallvor was spared a death sentence
for killing the Jarl. She was declared
an outlaw and banished by her tribe, family and the Viking people. An outlaw could claim no friend among the
Vikings, could only be offered minimal shelter in deep winter for a span of
half a turn of the moon - one dark to full moon or full to dark (what would later be known as two weeks). Hallvor could own no property and marry no
Viking and could be killed by any Viking without fear of reprisal.
As she was driven from the gates, the new Jarl
grabbed a war hammer and shattered the woman's lower spine and dragged her
outside the gates. Having been declared
an outlaw, no one offered to help her, not even her own family and the Viking
warrior crawled to a nearby stream to die.
That was when Xena found her.
"You should have let me die those years
ago," Hallvor muttered as Gabrielle approached them.
"You reading my mind, Hall?" Xena asked
softly, taking the mug from her mate and grabbing a quick hug.
"Easy, your eyes lost in memories,"
Hallvor mumbled.
"I wronged you then," Xena admitted. "Not by saving your life but what came
later. The sentence against you was
unjust, Hall."
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" the Viking
growled. "I won't let you fight
this battle for me, neither you nor Gabrielle."
"You don't have a choice," Gabrielle
smiled a rueful smile. "You can't
even stand up and I won't turn over one of my Amazons to an unjust death."
Any protests Hallvor might have had were cut short
at the sound of a delighted laugh coming from the hallway to the bedrooms. The bard turned with a large grin and knelt
to grab Asher as he dashed from the hall into her arms and then bounded into
Xena's.
Gabrielle smiled at the surprised look on Hallvor's
face as the Viking drank the tea.
"He's ours," Gabrielle answered the
unspoken question and refused to go into it further as Xena tickled their
son. Asher giggled and looked down at
their wounded visitor.
"This is Hallvor, she's a friend of ours,"
Xena said as she saw the boy watching the Viking. "She's not feeling well so you can't climb all over her,
okay?"
The boy nodded and waved at the Amazon and Hallvor
smiled into his blue-green eyes.
Gabrielle grinned and grabbed the boy up as he squealed and
laughed.
"Breakfast, you big oaf!" she declared as
they moved towards the food storage.
Hercules and Iolaus were both smiling as they
watched the bard manage to hold onto a laughing and struggling child and begin
gathering things for breakfast.
Iolaus joined Xena and their visitor while Hercules
went to the window and checked the surrounding area.
"He looks like Gabrielle but has your
smile?" Hallvor questioned.
"He's both of ours," Xena smiled, watching
her mate and son. "He is a gift
from the gods of the Northern Amazons."
"I give thanks to them," Hallvor said
formally. "You both look
happy."
"Yes and don't worry about upsetting
that," Xena warned. "You're a
friend, Hall, and we take care of our friends."
"I'm Iolaus and the big guy is Hercules,"
Iolaus grinned.
"This is Hallvor, from Gabrielle's tribe,"
Xena introduced her friends.
"Herc told me what was going on, sort of,"
Iolaus sat down in front of the fire and Xena noticed him unconsciously rubbing
his crippled arm and hand, trying to rub the pain away.
"Let's have some breakfast and see if we can
figure a way out of this," Xena suggested.
************************************************************************
Two candle-marks later and none of them had come up
with any answers.
Gabrielle rubbed a hand over her forehead and eyes
in frustration.
“I can’t see where we can merge Viking law and
Amazon law and satisfy everyone,” she complained.
“Neither can I,” Xena mumbled, gently rocking Asher
as the boy played with her hair. “If we
refuse Svenkender then we risk eventually dragging both provinces into a blood
feud.”
“At the very least we’ll have to take on at least
five Viking families,” Hercules commented.
“Not good odds.”
“I’m not turning Hallvor over!” Gabrielle growled.
“You don’t have a choice!” the Viking snapped from
her position near the fire. “I’m not
going to endanger you and your child, my Queen.”
“There has to be a way!” Gabrielle complained. “Why is he pursuing this?”
“Because he thought I was dead and I know the truth
about him,” Hallvor responded.
“And what would that be?” Xena asked as Asher grew
restless and crawled down out of his Xena Mom’s lap.
“He has built a reputation as a warrior by claiming
he fought me and captured me the night I killed his older brother,” Hallvor
explained.
“What?”
Xenas eyebrows went up in surprise.
“You didn’t mention that in all these years.”
“That’s because it didn’t happen,” Hallvor grinned
ruefully. “He was about 13 Spring
seasons that night and he was the first through the door. Sven took one look at me in werserker form
and ran screaming into the dark.”
“So he’s been telling everyone that he challenged
and captured you that night?” Iolaus asked and the Viking nodded.
“He’s in a panic,” Xena said grimly. “With Hallvor alive, she can dispute his
reputation and courage.”
“Why would he worry though?” Gabrielle asked
thoughtfully. “That was so long ago and
Hallvor has been declared an outlaw.
His word will be taken over hers.”
“Officially by everyone but the doubt would be there
and he’d be vulnerable to challenges,” Hercules explained.
“So it comes back to what do we do about him?”
Gabrielle asked.
“Tell him no and stand against him,” Xena
volunteered.
“We can’t go to war with a Jarl, it would drag
Eddval and Axel into it,” Hercules frowned.
“Hallvor is family.
We’re not turning her over!” Gabrielle growled.
“I suggest we start getting supplies inside in case
we have to stand him off,” Xena said and everyone except Hallvor nodded.
“Xena,” the Viking began but the warrior shook her
head.
“No, we won’t even consider turning you over,” Xena
growled and Hallvor knew that stubborn look on the warrior’s face.
There would be no arguing with Xena at that point or
her even more or as stubborn Queen.
************************************************************************
The day was spent gathering supplies into the house:
food stock and especially water.
Everyone was more quiet than usual, each lost in their own thoughts of
trying to solve the problem of what to do about Sven’s demands.
Hallvor was able to sit up close to dusk and
attempted to convince Xena to send her out according to Jarl Sven’s demands but
neither Xena nor Gabrielle would hear of it.
The Greeks stood on the porch watching the sun
setting lower on the horizon. Inside
the door and along the few windows in the cabin were stockpiled weapons. They were also very well armed as they
watched the tree line for any sign of Jarl Svenkender.
“Xena, I think I’ve figured something that might
work,” Gabrielle said softly, watching the sun and listening for movement in
the woods.
“I’m all ears, Little One,” Xena said agreeably,
wrapping an arm around her smaller mate.
“Hercules said that if everyone knew the truth about
Jarl Sven then he’d be vulnerable to challenges,” Gabrielle began. “What kind
of challenges?”
Xena frowned.
“Challenges to his manhood, his courage, his right to lead. A challenge means a fight, a duel.”
“Then why not settle that way?” Gabrielle
asked. “I challenge him to a duel,
calling his courage into doubt. I win;
he goes away like a beaten puppy and leaves Hallvor alone. We get her back to
the tribe and to safety before the winter snow.”
“It might work, she has the right to challenge him
as leader of the Amazons,” Hercules said thoughtfully.
“Then I’ll challenge him as her Champion,” Xena
declared firmly.
“The Vikings might not recognize a Champion
stand-in,” Hercules warned. “Especially
you, Xena. Your reputation as a warrior
is very well known in the North. Jarl
Svenkender can refuse.”
“He’s right,” Iolaus agreed. “The Vikings are used to everyone doing
their own fighting, that’s why the challenges exist in the first place. It might have to be Gabrielle.”
“Damnit!” Xena growled, “no, no way. We’ll stand and fight him rather than risk
that.”
“Xena, it’s my right as her Queen,” Gabrielle
argued.
“And my right as your mate to beg you not to risk
this,” Xena snapped. “Think of Asher
and me, we can’t lose you!”
“You won’t,” Gabrielle said firmly, her face
determined but the eyes loving.
“Think about it Gabrielle,” Hercules warned. “Just because he made his reputation on a
lie doesn’t mean that he can’t fight.
He didn’t get to be Jarl just by talking.”
“I know that and I didn’t earn my freedom from the
Arena with talk either,” she snapped.
Xena was about to continue the argument when movement
caught their eyes and the Greeks waited patiently as Jarl Sven and his men rode
out of the trees and into the clearing.
Neither the Greeks or Vikings had drawn weapons but hands rested on
sword hilts on both sides.
“I have given you the day to consider your actions,”
Jarl Sven began. “What is your
decision?”
Gabrielle was about to respond when Xena vaulted
over the railing of the porch and placed her hands on her hips.
“I don’t recognize your right to demand anything on
my land,” the warrior said firmly. “It
is known in this household that you were a coward as a boy and I claim you are
less of a man now.”
Jarl Sven’s light complexion face turned an extreme
color somewhere between purple and red.
His men shifted uneasily on their horses.
“You dare question my courage!” he finally
sputtered.
“That’s why you’re chasing a long dead issue,” Xena
continued. “Hallvor wanted nothing to
do with you and your family; she’s moved on past that night and doesn’t talk
about it. Your family name never even
gets mentioned, Sven.”
“She’s outlaw and cannot be granted protection!” he
yelled angrily.
“She’s also an Amazon and I am the Champion of the
Amazon tribe by my marriage to their Queen,” Xena countered. “You beat her almost to death and chased her
to finish the job because she might say that a small boy ran like a frightened
rabbit at the sight of a werserker in wolf form.”
Jarl Sven resisted looking around at his men but
could hear their mutterings and their horses continued to shift, sensing their
owners’ discomfort. The Greeks knew by
their reaction that Hallvor had been right.
Jarl Sven had built his reputation on the lie that he had faced her down
as a werserker when he was but a small boy.
“Hallvor lies, what do you expect from a wolfshead
outlaw?” he spat.
“She is a werserker, called on by AllFather Odin
himself as one of his warriors,” Gabrielle countered. “She’s willing to take a blood oath in Odin’s and Tyr’s names as
to the truth of her statement that you ran that night and that you ambushed her
days ago. You were afraid to face her
then and you are afraid to face her now.”