Chapter 6

Gabrielle's eyes fluttered open, she lay there on her pallet getting her bearings, and trying to figure out what had woke her up. She could see Rapa looking out the window towards the forest in the dim predawn light.

"Rapa," the still sleepy bard whispered. "What's wrong? What do you see?"

"I'm not sure your Highness," the dark thin warrior answered, "it looks like a large group of soldiers has just come out of the tree line, and they're heading this way, but they're coming in very quietly, and I can't see why. They have no banners, or anything to announce who they are."

"Oh no," the now wide-awake queen groaned. "We're too late, this is what Braxis was saying last night, but when he said in the morning, I thought we had more time."

She quickly swallowed back the panic she felt rising from her stomach, looking up at the lookout, trying to formulate her next course of action, when that decision was taken out of her hands.

"My Queen!" The scout at the window hissed loudly, "that army has cut us off from the Forest, and it looks like a huge fire over at the docks."

"Wake your sisters, NOW!" Gabrielle ordered as she leapt from her bedding, began dressing, and hunting for her weapons. "Move it Amazons, we're under attack, and we need to reach the city gates before they close us out here."

The other Amazons were up, dressed, and were soon following their Queen down the back stairs of the inn.

"Mallika, you take Tauria and Kala and release the horses, no sense making it easy for them." The three warriors followed her orders without comment as she continued, "Rapa, you and I must go back and at least try to warn the other guests and the innkeeper before we leave."

"My Queen" the tall thin Amazon called out as she followed her Queen into the still unaware inn. "You should hurry and get behind the walls; we will follow as soon as we have carried out your orders. Please, your Highness, the Regent would expect us to insist."

"Rapa," Gabrielle said over her shoulder without stopping. "What kind of Queen would I be if every time there was danger I ran and hid, while my people stayed and fought? No, we'll do this together, and then we will all make a run for the city walls."

With a look of total adoration, the dark woman followed her Queen into the inn, knowing in her heart, she would gladly follow the short blonde in to Tartarus itself, without question. Before this, only her friend Mallika had that distinction, now there was another she would gladly lay down her life for.

The two of them ran into the main room yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Everybody up!" they yelled in unison "there is an attack!" After the third yell, the innkeeper came running out of the kitchen, his face and clothing covered in flour.

"What's all this noise woman!" the stocky man demanded of the two obviously demented women. "Why are you trying to ruin me by waking up all my other guests?"

"We're trying to save their lives." Gabrielle yelled into the man's face "There's an unknown, unannounced army sneaking up on the city from the forest, and there's smoke coming from the docks, you figure it out! Come on, Rapa, let's get the others and get into the city. Maybe those people would appreciate our help."

"As you wish, my Queen," her escort returned with a bow, and an amused smirk at her feisty Queen's wit.

"What in Hades name does she mean Queen?" The innkeeper asked in surprise.

But the woman in question was already out the door. Then it hit him, unannounced army…docks on fire…Queen! "Everybody up!" the man began yelling as he ran through his inn pounding on the doors and walls "we're under attack!"

A sly smile crept across Rapa's lips when she heard the man's calls of alarm as she and her Queen returned to the courtyard for the other three in their party.

Gabrielle cocked her head and listened for a moment.

[Where's the alarm?] She wondered [I can already hear them, why isn't there an alarm?]

"I don't like this," Gabrielle muttered then turned to her companions, "Get into the city and look for the city guard or the alarm bell. Something's not right here and our best defense is inside those city walls. Now, move it ladies we're no longer just travelers now, we're Amazon warriors, so act like it, my scouts!"

When the five women entered, they split up. Kala ran directly to where she had seen a guard post and alarm bell the day before. When she got there the question of no alarm was answered, both guards were dead, their throats slit.

There was blood everywhere and for a second Kala froze, she had seen dead before on the field of battle, but she'd never seen anyone so cold bloodedly murdered before and it bothered her.

She stared at the bodies for a few minutes, and then remembered her Queen's instructions. The young warrior knew she must ruin the surprise of the attack, so as her Queen wanted; Kala found the rope leading to the large alarm bell and pulled it with everything she had.

All Tartarus broke loose as the huge bell rang out the warning in a loud clear voice. The young scout stayed at her post until the sounds of battle grew close, only then did she hurry out to join the fight and find her Queen.

She took off at a run to where she'd last seen Gabrielle, and her mate. When she turned a corner, she found herself in the middle of about fifteen men; all armed, and definitely not the city guard. Knowing from the smoke stained skin, and clothes and the smell of burning wood that surrounded them, that this was part of the enemy force that had set fire to the docks.

Kala pulled her sword and dagger and fell back into a defensive stance. It was obvious that she was facing insurmountable odds, but determined to take as many of the enemy with her as she could, the young Amazon scout whispered a prayer to Artemis for strength, and to watch over her beloved, then charged the men that had her surrounded.

The young woman's ferocious attack took the men by surprise and before they could react, three of their number were on the dusty street dead or dying.

The well-trained warrior was a whirlwind of kicks, razor sharp steel, and death, as she continued to assault the soldiers. However, no one is completely unstoppable, and she was eventually forced by fatigue and several serious wounds to stop for a moment.

It was then that a huge man, his skin blackened by smoke, with streaks of blood that ran from several minor, but painful, wounds inflicted by the small, fierce woman, stepped up, using his superior bulk and strength to batter down the exhausted woman's defenses. The two warriors looked at each other for a heartbeat, connecting on a level that only truly respected opponents knew, acknowledging their roles as victor and defeated.

The huge warrior looked deep into the Amazon's clear brown eyes and saw no fear there, he raised his sword slightly in a salute to a fellow warrior, then ran his massive broadsword all the way through her small body.

The wound was mortal but death was not immediate, and as the rest of the jackals that dared to call themselves warriors closed to take her down like a wounded animal, Kala heard a familiar voice screaming, "NO!"

She turned toward the sound and the last thing the young Amazon scout saw as she went down for the last time was the face of her lover frozen in horror.

With her last breath, she called out to her mate.

"Good-bye love," the dying woman gasped. "I will wait for you on the other side."

With that, Kala fell to the ground. What happened to her now no longer mattered...Kala was gone.

Chapter 7

Once Gabrielle heard Kala ringing the alarm, she decided that the next order of business was to gather the non-combatants and get them to some place relatively safe.

Mallika located a storage shed in an out of the way alley and after seeing there was plenty of room and it was fairly secure (three of the four walls were stone), she and Rapa began gathering all the children and other non-combatants they could quickly find, and sending them to the temporary shelter.

Gabrielle sent a worried Tauria to look for her mate, Kala, and stayed to help people into the shed and set up a way to protect it.

Soon after Tauria had left her Queen, the alarm bell stopped. Fearing for her friend and lover, the young Amazon drew her sword and long dagger, and began running in the direction she'd seen Kala disappear earlier.

She was turning down a narrow street when she heard the sounds of clashing steel and ran toward the sound, knowing instinctively her mate was in trouble.

Tauria reached the scene of the battle just in time to see a huge warrior run the light of her life through the middle with a big broadsword. He jerked the five feet of cold steel out of Tauria's lover and stepped away.

Kala turned her head and saw her mate standing behind her attackers. Kala smiled, oblivious to the blood streaming from her mouth and stomach and locked eyes with Tauria.

The last thing Tauria saw was her lover telling her good-bye, then the small, courageous Amazon scout went down under several attackers.

At the sight of her beloved mate going down, Tauria decided to join her beloved in death, but only after taking her revenge on the ones responsible for Kala's death. The young enraged scout let out a shrill eardrum-shattering war cry and leapt to fight the group of soldiers that had just killed her mate.

The large warrior that ran Kala through saw his companions attacking the brave young Amazon that he'd already defeated, and was appalled at their lack of respect for the game little female.

He felt disgust and loathing both at himself for taking such a noble soul, and at his comrades for their unnecessary mutilation of the pretty woman. When he saw the other young female and witnessed the grief and anguish in her eyes at the fall of the little one, he almost instantly recognized the look in her eyes.

The warrior known as Kurkan, had been a mercenary since his mis-spent youth and had lost his idealistic innocence early. Many times, he had sold his sword to some rather unscrupulous leaders. He'd never before questioned his calling or the actions he'd used in the service of his employers. After witnessing the actions of the others in Karcax's army, Kurkan knew it was time for a change.

The aging mercenary locked eyes with the grief stricken mate of the little warrior, raised his massive sword in salute, and walked away from the scene shoulders slumped in shame. He heard the woman's war cry, turned his back on the group of men, and didn't look back. As he heard the clash of steel and the cries of the men dying under her raging grief, Kurkan shook his head sadly and walked out of the city leaving his former comrades to fend for themselves, never to return.

As the last of her mate's attackers fell from the end of her sword, Tauria looked up in time to see another larger group of the marauders come around the far corner.

Holding her weapons ready, and crouched in a defensive position, the young scout began backing toward the way she'd come.

Knowing her Queen and comrades would need her, Tauria put aside her death wish and with a silent promise to her love to return her to Amazon lands, the young scout began a running battle with the new group of attackers. She knew that she must return to her Queen's side, but she was determined that a lot fewer of the enemy would be following when she got there.

The young scout did her teachers proud that day and several of the marauders went to meet Hades but there were just too many.

Suffering from several deep cuts and slashes along with becoming steadily weaker from blood loss, Tauria did her best to slow down her opponents. As she came into sight of her Queen and the two remaining Amazon scouts, the last three of the attackers came at her at once, and even though she killed all three of them, the momentum of their charge carried the men on into her and they all crashed to the hard ground.

Tauria's head struck a rock so hard she saw stars and then everything went black. She woke once, and could hear the sounds of heavy fighting all around her, and felt the overwhelming weight of the dead men lying on top of her.

Tauria tried to move, but as soon as she did, she felt nauseous and her head spun then she passed out again. The next time she woke the Queen's champion was tending to her, and the battle was over.

It was easy to gather from her surroundings and the champions questions that the Queen and her two friends were missing. The only thing she was able to do was tell the champion everything she could remember and answer all the questions as best as her addled mind allowed.

Tauria wept silent tears as she told of her beloved Kala's brave final stand and how she died with honor (small comfort to her widow now). Xena praised the young scout for her courage and promised to avenge her mate's death. She kept her stoic warrior's mask in place not wanting the injured girl to see how worried she truly was.

"You rest yourself young warrior," Xena told her patient softly. "You fought well and lost much, you have done the nation proud and I will make it my duty to see that the tales of your mate's last battle and your brave fight are told around camp fires for generations."

"Thank you, Champion," was all the severely injured woman could say as she more passed out than fell asleep.

"Sleep well, little one," Xena whispered to the unconscious warrior. "Your battle is finished...mine has just begun."

With that, the dark warrior rose and lost herself in the smoking ruins of the city. Her rage almost a living thing, coming to life inside her, and demanding the ultimate payment for the damages done her lover and her friends.

Most importantly, she had to find her beloved mate before she suffered too much at the hands of her captors.

"If they've harmed her," the ex-warlord growled, "I swear by all the gods I will hunt down and destroy everyone that was here all the way up to that bastard leading them himself."

The enraged warrior stalked off into the city determined to find some hint of where the enemy had taken her beloved Gabrielle, and who they was leading them, even if she had to kill every living thing from here to the sea.

Chapter 8

Gabrielle heard the sounds of a battle approaching and saw the worst of her fears come to life. One of her Amazons was fighting bravely against impossible odds; she could see the many wounds covering the young warrior and the blood flowing freely from the woman's injuries.

It was obvious to Gabrielle that the woman was in bad shape and about to go down, but when she started to go to the young woman's aid Gabrielle, felt a hand grab her upper arm holding her fast. She turned and looked into the almost black eyes of Rapa.

"Let me go help her," Gabrielle hissed, angry at being held back.

"Would you belittle a warrior's sacrifice my Queen?" The dark scout asked calmly. "She and her mate have given their all in service of their Queen; don't make their honourable deaths meaningless, please."

Gabrielle stopped and realized what she was being told, it sank in that not only was Tauria about to die defending her, but her mate, the gregarious little Kala, was probably dead already as well.

Tears began falling from the Queen's dark green eyes, but she held her ground even when she saw the brave woman taken down by three large men and fail to rise.

Gabrielle felt grief tear at her heart but refused to belittle the efforts of her loyal subjects. She vowed silently that if she got through this alive, she'd make sure that everyone, especially her fellow Amazons, would hear of the bravery and sacrifice of the two Amazon scouts.

The fighting in the city slowly worked its way through the city streets heading in the direction of the three self appointed guardians of the city's non-combatants.

Several times, the three women held off groups of marauders that were trying to get to the innocents hiding in the shed. Still, the three fought on, defending the people who the day before had treated them as freaks of nature.

Eventually, the rest of the city fell to the invaders, leaving only Gabrielle and her two Amazon escorts standing against an army. Sensing inevitable defeat, Gabrielle began taking precautions to save her two loyal scouts and herself from unnecessary problems if and when they were captured.

"Alright, I need you two to listen to me and do as I say," Gabrielle hissed, hoping the two proud women wouldn't put up too much of an argument. "I want you to remove everything on you that shows that you are Amazon."

"But, your Highness," Rapa began, "that would be dishonorable."

"Is it more honorable to die and leave your sister Amazons in danger?" Gabrielle whispered, her eyes drilling into the over-sensitive scout. "I am your Queen and I say we must hide our Amazon identity in order to live long enough to help these weaker women and children."

Neither woman could argue with the bard's logic and reluctantly removed all the items they had that would proclaim them to be Amazon. Gabrielle had them put everything in a leather pouch and, along with her intricately carved staff, she hid them in a hastily hollowed out section of the shed wall, then replaced the large rock that fit over the hole.

Then she put a mark on the stone that her warrior would recognize just in case Gabrielle wasn't able to retrieve the items herself.

That done, the three warriors turned to face their attackers, it wasn't long before they were so completely out numbered, that it was obvious to everyone that defeat was impossible to avoid.

When all three women were forced back against the shed wall, the enemy stopped advancing. The men parted making room for a tall, well-built man, wearing brightly polished bronze armor and riding a huge coal black war-horse to ride through.

He looked down at the three exhausted women and pointed his gleaming sword at them. Looking at them as he would a small rabbit that had suddenly stood up and fought not to be his dinner.

"You are brave, ladies, but it is hopeless," the man's booming voice filled the air. "Lay down your weapons and you and those you protect will be taken alive. I swear it in the name of Karcax."

"And if we don't?" Gabrielle asked with far more defiance than she felt.

"Then you and all the others die," he said calmly. "It's nothing to me, your choice."

Gabrielle looked at her two companions and saw how exhausted they were, and then she thought of the women and children she was defending. She knew they counted on her to keep them alive, and without another word, she threw down her sais at the warlord's impatiently stomping horse's feet. Her two comrades followed their Queen's example and their weapons joined hers on the ground.

The warlord's men rushed forward and quickly bound their hands behind their backs. The three women were chained together, and their collars linked separately from the other prisoners to keep them from encouraging the others to escape or create some other problems for their captors. Within less than a day, the warlord was ready to move on and the group of new slaves was herded from the city to their unknown and probably unwelcome fate elsewhere.

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A tear fell from Gabrielle's eye as she remembered the last two days and the humiliating things she'd endured in order to save the lives of the small children. As with other men as cruel as slavers, these were ready to murder every child under six in cold blood, to them it was a simple business decision, to Gabrielle it was an abomination.

In order to save the children she had offered the greatest sacrifice, herself. Some of the men had been happy to take her up on her offer and had begun to "closely" examine their prize over the outraged cries by Rapa and Mallika. A senior officer the younger Amazon's cries and came to check out what was causing the commotion, and put an immediate halt to Gabrielle's violation.

When he learned the reason his men were disobeying orders he ordered her flogged for tempting his men, but he also ordered the children spared.

She had temporarily won her quest, but the bard was under no illusion, she realized that her situation wasn't going to get any better, but would more likely become a lot worse, if help didn't arrive soon. She breathed a silent prayer to Artemis that her note would be found where the trails split and help was coming.

As night fell, the rest of the prisoners were herded into a hastily erected rope corral and left there for the night. Gabrielle and her two Amazons were taken to a supply wagon and chained to the wheels, separate from the rest.

The leers of their captors had been getting bolder since the groups had split up the day before. The main body of the army had turned inland and the group that accompanied the future slaves continued on, following the river toward a near by port, where the soldiers would be able to sell their captives with little worry about the law.

It was fully dark when their captors brought Gabrielle and her two companions each a bowl of a thick gruel. All three women ate the foul tasting stuff knowing they needed to keep their strength up in order to take advantage of any opportunity to escape. Gabrielle finished choking down her "meal", lay her head back, and let the horrors of the last few days wash over her.

It had been four days since they had been forced to surrender, and three of those days on the road moving further from her beloved warrior. With every day, the small party was farther away from Ciros and farther away from any hope for rescue.

The Queen wept silently trying not to let her companions know how hopeless their predicament truly was. She was afraid that if they weren't found soon, all hope would be gone.

She was also afraid of Xena's reaction when she found out about the sacrifice the compassionate bard had made to save the little ones from a horrible death, usually their brains would be bashed out on some convenient rocks (the vision that thought invoked made her shudder violently). Would her fiercely proud lover be able to forgive her, and understand why she'd let them touch her like that?

The bard found herself praying to any god that would listen to help Xena find her and take her away from this waking nightmare.

[Please Xena, my heart, hurry] the bard thought desperately [I don't know if I can take it much longer without you. I need you my love.]

The tears continued to fall from Gabrielle's eyes even after she fell into an exhausted sleep. Her two companions took turns watching over their Queen as she slept, each knowing the self-imposed burden the small woman carried.

They knew she was not only worried about her own fate but she also felt responsible for the fates of the two Amazons as well as all the others taken captive when the surrendered. They'd seen her flinch when the slavers had whipped them for not following orders as if she was receiving each stroke herself.

When the Amazons tried to interfere with Gabrielle's punishment when she had tried to defend the weaker ones among the other prisoners. Both of them had seen their Queen not move or make a sound as she accepted her own flogging, but they'd also heard her cry out and beg for mercy for them, as the commander had given them ten strokes each for protesting with Gabrielle's punishment. Her bravery and compassion were an inspiration to the two scouts.

After their Queen was asleep, both Mallika and Rapa quietly made a blood oath to avenge their Queen's humiliation at the slavers hands, at the first opportunity.

Later that night as the rest of the camp slept, Mallika heard the call of a night bird that made her heart race. She silently woke her partner and bade her to listen and confirm that this was a very special and welcome night bird.

They woke their Queen and the trio waited for the first opportunity to answer that plaintive call that meant freedom.

Chapter 9

As the chariot of Apollo began its journey in the morning sky, he found Xena and her new Amazon contingent well on their way into the third day of following the trail of Gabrielle and her captors.

While there was always a concern when the women and civilians of any town or peoples was taken, as Gabrielle and her remaining escort had been, some would think it was easy, since Xena had gained a reputation for freeing captured slaves. But this time it was different. This time her bard had been taken. Ever since they had begun traveling together, this had always been one of the warrior's greatest fears. She knew that if her captors found out who Gabrielle really was, and how much she meant to Xena, it would go a lot harder on the little green-eyed blonde from Poteidaia.

Another concern was all three of the captives' status as Amazons. For some perverse reason, they were highly prized among those who kept slaves, to be used either as gladiators, or as tortured and broken sex slaves, the used as a novelty in some of the more exclusive brothels.

Xena knew too, that there were always those among mercenary bands like Karcax's, that had been outcast by most of the regular armies because of their violent ways with women, but for some reason that kind was welcome amongst the ranks of a force, like the one that now held Gabrielle and her two fellow Amazons. In her own warlord days, Xena had a standing order against rape, and the punishment for breaking that order, was death.

If somehow one of these types found out either of Gabrielle's alternate identities, she would be fair game for whatever they could imagine as entertainment.

On the other hand, if she could convince some of them that she was a simple bard with her apprentices, then they may even be spared some of the degradations the others may face. Bards were considered valuable and usually left unmolested, even by the most barbaric of slavers because of that fact. No true slaver would jeopardize their profits just for a night's pleasure. This was a universal rule among their kind and was strictly enforced.

These thoughts spurred Xena on, and through her, Aentia and her small troupe of scouts.

Shortly before noon, one of the scouts that been sent on ahead returned to report that the group they were pursuing, had split up. They wanted the Queen's champion to come see if she could shed any light on which group to follow.

Driven by fear for her lover's well being, Xena spurred her tired mount on to the turning point.

Getting off the skittish war horse, the warrior hurried to where the Amazon scouts knelt beside the road where the trails split, one heading inland toward some of the smaller independent city states. The other led toward some of the larger, less scrupulously patrolled, port cities that welcomed, even catered, to the purveyors of human cargo.

It was the latter trail that Xena paid closest attention to, on the hunch that if she were able, her ever-inventive bard would leave her some clue to their direction. The one thing Gabrielle could be sure of was that her warrior would be hot on the trail of her captors. Sure enough, Xena's searching azure eyes spotted a small leather strap tied around a rock holding a torn piece of parchment. Xena pulled the tiny folded paper, and unfolded it to read its contents.

As she read, a small smile of pride and satisfaction lifted the corners of the sullen warrior's lips and tears of pride formed at the corners of her eyes. She handed the note to Aentia who read it and chuckled at the bravery and audacity of her Queen.

"She is truly something, huh, Aentia?" Xena said the pride evident in her husky, emotion-choked voice. "Is it any wonder such a woman would hold my soul?"

"Yes she is truly one among many, Champion," the Amazon commander agreed, her own respect for the little queen raising a notch. "Truly a worthy queen and a true Amazon warrior as well as a worthy guardian of a warrior's soul."

Seeing the curious looks from the other Amazons, Aentia looked for, and received, approval from Xena to show the others the parchment. They all smiled. The note said.

I'm waiting my love.

G

Anxious to catch up with the slave caravan, now that she was sure that Gabrielle was still reasonably well, Xena sprang to Argo's back. The faithful animal started down the trail toward her rider's waiting lover. Aentia waited long enough to send one of her scouts to find an Amazon border patrol to relay a warning about the new marauding warlord, and his army was headed toward their borders. Then she and her remaining scouts took to their own mounts spurring them to a gallop, in an effort to keep up with the impatient champion.

The pursuers continued after the slow moving caravan until by nightfall, they were nearly caught up to them. The scout on point brought word that she had spotted the caravan's rear guard, and the main group holding the slaves wasn't very far ahead.

Xena was all for riding into the camp and taking her beloved Gabrielle right then. Only Aentia's logical warning about endangering the Queen if they accidentally ran up on their camp in the dark kept an enraged Xena from charging on after the slavers.

Aentia could just barely see the stoic, yet somehow friendly Queen's Champion in the Xena she had known before. This one before her now was a cold, calculating, tempestuous, force of nature bent on the total destruction of any and all that came between her and her objective. This, Aentia decided, must be what she must have been like when Xena was called the Destroyer of Nations, before she met her savior and soulmate.

It was obvious to Aentia that without the peaceful, loving influence of Gabrielle, the world would be a very different place. All Greece would be living in fear of this tall, dark, powerful warrior instead of hanging their hopes on her.

With a cold shiver running up her spine, she once again looked into those two crystal-blue ice chips the tall, dark woman had for eyes awaiting her orders. The veteran warrior was suddenly grateful she had never faced the Warrior Princess across the battlefield, the ruthless, merciless vision of the warlord was clear for all to see. With Aentia's cooperation, Xena took full command of the mission. She sent one of the scouts out into the night to locate their prey.

"Just find their camp," Xena emphasized. "Don't get too close. Remember, no matter what you think, these guys just got done taking, and destroying a well fortified city complete with its own garrison, so they're tougher than they look."

She looked deep into the liquid brown eyes of the scout and liked the serious intensity she saw there, but added more for her own piece of mind.

"If you do something 'stupid' that gets my Gabrielle hurt, there will be nowhere you can hide," the Warrior Princess warned. "She is everything to me and if anyone causes her harm, I will personally see to it they die for days."

Every one of the Amazons nodded their understanding including Aentia, if even half the stories of the Destroyer were true; Xena would have no second thoughts about following through with her promise. They were sure it was a promise not just a threat.

During the search, Xena's single-minded pursuit of her bard's captors had made her feelings for their Queen clear to them all. On one hand, Aentia hoped she would find herself lucky enough to have that kind of all consuming love someday. On the other hand, she found herself fearing it more than death itself.

It was also clear to the Amazons that if anything happened to Gabrielle, the only thing the powerful ex-warlord would live for would be, to hunt down, and destroy whoever was responsible. It was also left unsaid, but well known, that once that was done; the warrior would never be heard from again.

Their Queen was the Warrior Princess' life, without Gabrielle, there was no Xena, and the warrior so feared her own darkness that she would rather die than risk turning back into the conqueror she once was. In her heart, Xena knew that to do that would be to dishonor the woman that had sacrificed so much to redeem her.

The small party made a cold camp that night, not wanting to alert their prey to their presence. After setting up guard shifts, Aentia and the rest of the Amazons found comfortable places to sleep a short distance from the road.

Xena sat on a convenient log, and as was her nightly habit, began sharpening her weapons. The steady whoosh of the sharpening stone on steel and the feral look on the warrior's face made her companions nervous, but none of them felt the necessity to bring it up to the one time warlord.

The warrior hadn't even taken the time to clean the viscera and blood from the skirmish in the burned city. She was a sight that easily struck fear into any that saw her coming. Xena was not known for her patience, and considering the situation, Aentia thought it wiser to worry about the champion in silence rather than risk talking to her about it.

Suddenly, Xena stopped sharpening in mid-stroke and began muttering something to herself.

"It's not right," she muttered under her breath. "This is too easy. No way, he wouldn't be expecting some kind of pursuit. What is that Hades cursed bastard up to?"

Xena suddenly slammed her sword back into its scabbard and stood abruptly. Thinking better when she moved, Xena began pacing around the quiet camp. As she prowled past each still form lying around the campsite, the Warrior Princess unconsciously noticed who was asleep and who was lying watching her.

Like a lightening bolt, the thought struck her.

"A trap it's got to be," Xena hissed. "No warlord worth his armor could be this stupid. Aentia!"

"Here, Champion!" The troupe leader answered leaping from the ground. "What is it?"

"I want you to choose your two best and fastest scouts," Xena began back in her own element, a commander of armies, "Ones you can rely on. Send one back along our back trail, as far as the turn off and to keep her eyes and ears open."

"Apia," the veteran commanded and a young but hard-looking scout appeared from the surrounding darkness, "you heard the Champion, do it."

With a quick salute, the scout turned and disappeared back into the darkness. Aentia turned back to the warrior for her next order.

"Good, now I need your fastest," Xena continued nodding her head at the leader's acceptance of her command. "But be sure she's cautious enough not to be caught--we'll be depending on her for our very lives."

Aentia thought for a second then a grim smile crossed her lips, not touching her eyes.

"Tessa," the woman hissed, determined to be as quiet as possible.

A small, wiry, dark-skinned scout with an angry red scar down the left side of her face appeared from the shadows and knelt down next to them, her attention focused on her new commander.

"You need to go by the most direct route back to the Nation," Xena explained urgently, hoping the woman would understand the importance of her mission. "I'm sure by now the Regent has sent a company of Amazon warriors to join us. You must find them and bring them to us as quickly as you can. Tell them that we've stumbled into a trap and if they don't make it here, the lives of your queen and this troop may well be forfeit. GO!"

With a salute, the small woman melted into the night and soon even Xena's senses couldn't detect her.

"What's happened Xena?" Aentia asked. The comment about a trap had her worried.

"I don't know where my brain is," Xena growled, angered by her lapse in judgment. "I'm sorry Aentia, I'm afraid I've been so focused on Gabrielle I wasn't thinking clearly."

She studied the older Amazon's face but saw no condemnation, only understanding.

"I should have picked it up from the beginning when the trails were so easy to follow," Xena continued. "I fell for the oldest trick in the warlord's instruction scrolls and walked right into the trap he set for pursuers."

Chapter 10

Xena let out a sigh of resignation as she began trying to think of a way to escape what she knew was going to happen soon.

"What's going to happen?" The Amazon asked so she could better herself and her people. "And how do we fight it?"

The troop leader's confidence in the warrior's abilities was evident in her willingness to follow the tall intense woman, despite her error.

"The trap is simple," Xena began. "Lull your pursuers with an obvious splitting of forces, then when they follow the slave caravan to save their people, fall on them from behind, catching them between the two groups and destroy them."

Aentia let out a low whistle of understanding of their precarious position, and how devastatingly simple it was. Even a fool could carry it off, and they'd seen Karcax was no fool. "You have a plan?" She asked hoping the warrior princess was worth her reputation.

"Yes I do, but it's desperate and I can't ask you to risk it," Xena said truthfully. "It appeals to me because it gets my bard out of their hands quicker. You and your warriors can get off the trail, and hide in the trees until Karcax's army passes and find your way to the reinforcements I hope will be coming soon."

Aentia looked at Xena her eyes hard at first, but when she saw the champion was only trying to spare her Amazons, she softened her retort.

"No way, Xena," the determined and loyal Amazon stated flatly. "That's our Queen and our sisters in danger up there. It is a matter of honor that we help bring them out safely. With you or without you, that's exactly what we will do."

Xena nodded, understanding the demands of honor, and filled Aentia in on her plan. It was basic. Following in the finest Amazon tradition of guerrilla warfare, Aentia and the twelve remaining Amazons would, under cover of darkness, enter the rear guards' camp and as quietly and as efficiently as possible, kill every breathing human they found there that wasn't a prisoner.

Xena stressed the quickly part of her plan, because she hoped to still have enough night to move on to the main caravan and repeat the action.

If everything went as planed, and if Artemis and Athena were with them, the Queen, her two remaining escorts, and any other prisoners would be freed before any real resistance could be mounted. Xena's was a devastatingly simple plan, and by many it would be considered cold-blooded murder, but considering the odds and the fact that it was her Brie that was being held, Xena didn't give a damn what anyone thought.

Aentia agreed, and after setting up a few necessary signals that not only the Amazons but also Gabrielle would immediately understand, they were ready.

In less than one and a half candlemarks, the deadly group was in position around the sloppily erected rear guard camp.

"If these had been my men their, sergeant would have been executed, and the senior men whipped for a camp like this," Xena whispered to Aentia as they waited for the signal that the perimeter guards were taken care of. It came shortly. "This is it. Good hunting."

With that, the warrior let out a night bird call that every Amazon knew, and dark sinister figures slipped silently into the camp and began moving among the sleeping men.

Stopping at each lump, the women moved quickly, only a minor grunt or groan marked their passage.

Soon the signal was heard, and Xena knew every man in the small camp was dead; either their throats were slit or a razor sharp blade shoved into the brain through the eye or ear.

None of the enemy had been aware of the attack until it was too late, and as Xena ordered, they left no wounded, and took no prisoners. When the phantoms slipped once more into the shadows, only the dead remained. Only one Amazon was injured. One of younger scouts had been stabbed in the arm while struggling with a guard whose throat was already slit. Her wound was quickly bound, and the deadly group moved on to their next target less than a league down the road.

Two of the scouts had gone on ahead and mapped out the lay of the larger camp. One of them brought back the information while the other kept an eye on the camp from nearby shadowed treetops to see any changes in the camp's status.

Xena stressed to them that she expected no surprises once they entered the camp. Her plan was to take out the perimeter guards then, as in the last camp, slip in quietly and take out as many as they could before the camp was alerted to their presence.

This was a larger camp, and Xena knew there was no way they'd be able to pull off taking out the entire camp without someone raising the alarm.

However, once the alarm sounded, they were to split into three groups. The one led by Aentia would go directly to where Gabrielle was being held, and free her and any others with her. Each of the scouts in that group was carrying an extra sword to arm any of the freed prisoners that wanted it.

The wounded youngster was also carrying the Queen's staff that Xena had found in Ciros, not far from where she'd found the area where the children had been taken under a stone that was marked by a circle with an X in the center.

A sign Xena and Gabrielle had used many times; it had been her symbol back when Xena had been the most feared warlord in Greece. Tauria had told them how Gabrielle had been defending the children and other non-combatants when she'd been forced to surrender to save the lives she was protecting.

Tauria had heard it all but because of her wounds, the weight of the bodies, and other debris, was unable to help Gabrielle.

When Xena checked, she found Gabrielle's and her escorts' Amazon weapons and other markings hidden so their captors wouldn't know who or what they were. She had collected and cleaned each item carefully so she could return them to her bard once they were back together. It gave the warrior a good feeling to be returning her lover's belongings to her, especially items that meant as much to Gabrielle as her Amazon things.

The bard was very proud of her adopted people, and Xena intended to see that no warlord took that away from the brave little bard-- no matter what.

It was easy for the warrior see why her partner held the Amazons so precious in her heart. They were the first people, after Xena, to accept the young blonde from Poteideia as herself and not judge her by her size or background. The Amazons were as much a part of what Gabrielle had become over the years as her travels with Xena was.

The young bard had weathered through some very bad times with the Amazon Nation since becoming part of the Amazon royalty. She grieved the bad times and the loss of many old and valued friends and the little blonde had rejoiced in the good times. This had also played a large part of Xena and the nation coming to terms with the Warrior Princess' past crimes and transgressions against the Amazons.

With that in mind, Xena and Aentia regrouped their troops and headed them toward the slavers' main camp. Both anxious to free their Queen and to prepare to defend themselves from the attack that both women knew were inevitable.

End Part 2

Continued In Part 3

Any and all feedback welcome, flames will be consigned to the round file, send it to: alexp@iland.net thank you for riding with me so far I hope to see you at the end. A.P.