Gabrielle nervously looked around as the former Amazon queen led her further away from civilization. As she tried to put a lid on her anxiety, the bard wondered if Velasca was more desperate to hold on to her power than she originally thought.
"So your highness," Velasca said, looking over her shoulder as she walked, "I trust that your first night here was satisfactory?" Gabrielle didn't answer right away, trying to decipher whether or not there was some kind of hidden meaning behind the question.
"It was fine. Thank you for asking," she finally said, only a hint of wariness in her voice. Velasca must have picked up on it, though.
"Gabrielle, you don't need to worry about your safety around me. If I wanted you dead I would have killed you already," Velasca told her. Gabrielle raised a doubtful eyebrow at that statement.
"Then why have you asked me to come all this way into the middle of nowhere? I severely doubt that you were in the mood for some girl talk," the bard responded, earning a smirk from the other Amazon.
"You know me too well already, Gabrielle. Are you always this good at reading people?" Velasca didn't wait for her to answer. Instead, she held up her hand as she came to a stop. "This is far enough. I wouldn't want you getting suspicious, now would I?" The sarcastic smile made the bard's skin crawl. Gabrielle ignored it as she took in her new surroundings.
The one thing that was in her favor was that they were out in the open, giving her room to move if something did start between them. That was the only thing going for her, though. She had no idea where she was, they were far away from the village, and she was unarmed. It wasn't a good combination.
"What I wanted to talk about was the tribe. I want what's best for my people and would hope that you would, too. I think that keeping that traitor out of prison, you're not off to a good start."
"I thought I made it clear yesterday. Ephiny is my responsibility and-"
"And I respect your decision. I only question the wisdom in allowing her freedom within your quarters. She has betrayed us before and it is likely that she'll do it again. I'm only looking out for what is safest for you and the tribe... My queen." Gabrielle mentally grimaced at Velasca's fake concern before answering.
"Well I can assure you that your concern is unnecessary," she said. 'And extremely unwanted,' she mentally added on. "Now, you say that you want what is best for the Amazons. Is warring with the centaurs really what is best for our people?" she asked, happy to change the subject; until she saw Velasca's eyes darken.
"Destroying the centaurs is only the beginning. The world needs to see that the Amazons are a group of warriors; not some joke to be told amongst drunken has-beens in low-rate taverns," Velasca said with conviction, not bothering to hide her anger. Gabrielle could see her hands balled into fists at her sides, her knuckles turning white. Gabrielle knew those signs of anger well. First with Perdicas and then with fighters in the prison after they lost a match.
"You're wrong. What the world needs to see is that the Amazons aren't a tribe of barbarians out for blood," the bard said. She could feel the unbridled anger in Velasca's stare as hateful, brown eyes pierced into hers.
"There's a difference between barbarians and warriors, little girl."
"Yeah. A warrior only fights when they need to. A barbarian fights, rapes, and takes what they want simply because they can," Gabrielle responded without fear, never breaking the eye contact she held with Velasca's cold stare. "Which are you? Warrior... or barbarian?"
Years of living with the threat of constant danger hade made the bard an expert in the area of knowing when someone was about to attack. So when her observant eyes noticed the tensing of thick muscle, she had enough sense to move out of the way of the fist that came flying towards her head. She could feel herself slipping out of control with the movement. Gritting her teeth, Gabrielle tried to stop herself from retreating back to the past. After some effort, she was able to prevent the mental trip back to the prison. The hesitation, however, gave Velasca enough time to pull a hidden dagger out of its sheathe on her belt.
"How about you decide for yourself, my queen?" The words were laced with venom and Gabrielle was briefly tempted to let herself sink back into her memories just so she could wipe the sneer off of Velasca's face.
"Did you give Eponin the same offer before you stuck an arrow in her chest?" the bard asked. She expected the Amazon to react in anger and was rewarded when a kick was sent at her stomach. She jumped back, easily avoiding the predictable attack. "Or was it better to kill her like a coward?"
She wasn't fast enough to completely avoid the blade that struck out at her chest like an angry snake. Her teeth clenched as the sharp edge of the metal sliced across the skin just above her breasts as she turned sideways.
She used the attack against the Amazon, however, by reaching up and grabbing hold of the arm that had struck out at her. Before Velasca could wiggle free, the bard swung her free arm at the former queen's throat. The force made Velasca drop the dagger and stagger backwards once Gabrielle let go of her. While she struggled for breath, the blonde used her chance to pick up the dagger and throw it out of reach.
"What's the matter, Queenie? Can’t stomach killing someone?” Velasca asked after regaining her breath. Gabrielle’s eyes narrowed at the woman mocking her.
“I have no problem killing you. I won’t murder an unarmed woman, though. Unlike you, I have principles,” she responded, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice. A thought tickled at the back of her mind, reminding her that she had no problem throwing aside those principles when she murdered her late husband.
“Those so-called principles are going to get you killed,” Velasca said in a low growl before leaping at the blonde again, determined to win the fight even if she didn’t have a weapon. Gabrielle hit the ground, her head banging against the hard earth. The former queen used the moment of disorientation to backhand the bard across the face. Gabrielle could have sworn she saw stars for a few moments after the hit. She knew for a fact that the familiar, coppery taste in her mouth was from the blood swishing around, awakening the taste buds on her tongue.
‘Must have bitten something,’ her hazy mind offered as an explanation before she felt Velasca’s hands wrap around her throat. Her knee jerked up on its own accord out of reflex. Velasca’s grip weakened enough so that Gabrielle could bring her head up with enough force to head-butt her. The blonde thought she heard a crack as her head made contact with the former queen, who rolled off of her while holding a hand over her face. When she removed the hand, blood could be seen running from her nose in two red rivulets.
“Give it up, Velasca. Even if you kill me here, don’t you think the Amazons will be a little suspicious?” To her surprise, Velasca started laughing hysterically. Gabrielle momentarily wondered if the former queen was on the same sanity level as Callisto.
"You foolish little girl," Velasca finally said, her words making the bard bristle. "Of course the Amazons will be suspicious; and most likely outraged as well. That's what scapegoats are for." Realization began to dawn on Gabrielle when the Amazon finished speaking.
"So, you kill me and blame it on Ephiny," she guessed. The satisfied smirk on Velasca's face told her she was correct. "I can see the simplicity in that. Ephiny has already been branded as a traitor so it wouldn't be that big of a leap to assume she killed me," Gabrielle mused aloud. "There's only one problem with your little plan though."
"Oh really? Well then please enlighten me, my queen," Velasca said with a skeptical look on her face.
"I don't plan on letting you kill me," the bard said as she smoothly shifted into a defensive stance.
"We'll see about that," Velasca growled before throwing a punch at Gabrielle's head. The blonde blocked it, only to have Velasca's free hand land a hit to her side. The bard struggled to stop herself from succumbing to the force of the punch. Her opponent saw her struggling to stay upright and decided it was the perfect moment to return the head-butt she had received earlier. Gabrielle stumbled backwards as her vision blurred from the tears building up in her eyes.
"I knew it. You're all talk. I was foolish to expect any more from a half-grown housewife," Velasca spat at her. Gabrielle only half listened to the other Amazon's words as she mentally took stock of her injuries. Her side hurt like Hades and she wouldn't be surprised if she found a bruise there later. She could feel sweat dripping into the cut on her chest, which only made it sting more than usual. Neither wounds compared to the pulsating pain radiating from the center of her face.
She could feel blood running from her nostrils, each heartbeat causing more of the red substance to run from her nose. She winced as she gave herself a sardonic smile. Paybacks really were a bitch.
"All out of words, my queen?" Velasca asked with a smirk. "I didn't happen to beat your only talent out of you, did I?"
"Shut up, Velasca," Gabrielle growled, returning her focus on her opponent. She could see the former queen's anger at being commanded. Hopefully she could use that anger to help her win the fight. If Velasca was distracted by her emotions the bard would have a better chance at getting back to the Amazon village alive.
Deciding to go on the offensive while the other woman was still angry, Gabrielle aimed a punch at Velasca's side before stopping her fist's motion and bringing her knee up instead. The attack landed squarely in her enemy's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Gabrielle didn't give her the chance to recover, bringing her elbow down hard on the Amazon's back and knocking her onto the ground.
'That was for Eva,' she thought, wishing that they weren't fighting in the grass so that the blow would have hurt more. When she saw that Velasca was trying to get back up, she gave her a swift kick to the head, knocking the former queen unconscious.
"Who's the housewife now?" she panted before walking over to where she had thrown the dagger. She studied it for a moment before placing it on her belt. She then walked over to the downed woman and lifted her up. She didn't bother being gentle with her as she half-carried, half-dragged the unconscious woman back to the village.
She was greeted by many curious looks, a few disinterested ones, and one very angry glare once she reached the home to the Amazons. She didn't have the energy to argue with Eva though, so she simply shoved Velasca into her arms.
"We were sparring and it got out of hand," she explained, the half-truth sounding nasally because of her broken nose. "Take care of her," she said before leaning in and adding on in a whisper, "and give her this. She'll need it when she tries to kill me again." She took the dagger out of her belt and slipped it into Eva's hand. The young woman's eyes widened in disbelief as Gabrielle walked away, leaving her staring at the weapon in her hand.
When she got back to her hut, the bard was met with three pairs of eyes. She sighed as she got ready for the barrage of questions that would soon be flung her way by Ephiny, Xena, and her own daughter.
"Are you insane?" Xena was the first to speak up. Gabrielle turned her gaze to the floor, unable to look the warrior princess in the eyes. She didn't have to look up at her friend to know that her arms were crossed and that she had a disappointed look on her face. It was what she always did when she was upset with the bard.
"You know, I ask myself that same question every day," she mumbled in response as her feet nervously shifted beneath her. She felt like a child being reprimanded for doing something she wasn't supposed to under Xena's stare.
"Gabrielle, this is not the time for jokes. You could have been killed," Xena told her. The blonde mentally rolled her eyes.
"Tell me something I don't know," she muttered under her breath before looking up from the ground. She found her friend looking at her with concerned eyes and she immediately regretted making Xena worry about her. "I'm sorry. Look, can we discuss my shortcomings later? I feel like Tartarus right now and I just want to get cleaned up," she asked with pleading eyes.
"She's right, Xena. We'll have time later to talk about what happened today," Ephiny said. "Besides," she continued with an amused smirk, "she smells like a wet dog. You should really let her wash the stench off of her." Gabrielle glowered at her so-called friend.
"Thanks, Eph. You're a real pal," she said as the Amazon passed her to reach the door of the hut.
"I do what I can," Ephiny replied with a shrug before sticking her head outside and looking around for a few seconds before finding who she was looking for. "Iliana!" she called out, causing the young Amazon that had met them the day before to look over from the weapon rack she had been studying. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure thing, Ephiny. Just name it," the young woman responded eagerly.
"Get some of your friends together and prepare a bath for queen Gabrielle," Ephiny ordered her before reluctantly flashing the girl a grateful smile. Iliana practically beamed back at her.
"It will be done in no time!" she promised before running off to find her friends, leaving behind a frustrated blacksmith who had been hoping to sell the girl a new sword. Ephiny shook her head at the girl's behavior and then shut the door. When she turned around she found Xena taking a look at her queen's nose while Nexa watched with curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
"So should I send for a healer as well or are you two fine for now?" Ephiny asked, already knowing the answer.
"No, Ephiny. Just tell me where the healing supplies are kept," Xena answered as she gently turned Gabrielle's head so she could look for any hidden injuries.
"They should be in the chest in the royal quarters," the Amazon told them. "Your bath should be ready by the time you're done, my queen." Ephiny gave a small bow, much to Gabrielle's annoyance, before turning and going to her own quarters.
"What do you say we patch you up?" Xena asked before leading the bard and her daughter into their room. "Go sit on the bed," she ordered the bard. "And don't move or I will tie your arms to the bedpost," she added on, earning a glare from the blonde woman. Gabrielle did as she was told though and she was soon joined by her daughter, who looked at her questioningly.
"Did Momma get a booboo?"
"Yes, your mother got a booboo," Xena answered before the bard could even open her mouth. "That's what happens when you make reckless decisions." The warrior ignored the annoyed look on Gabrielle's face as she brought the healing supplies over and set them on the table next to the bed. She cursed under her breath and left the room, giving the bard a warning glare to stay where she was. She returned with a small, wooden bowl that she set on the table and filled with water from the pitcher that had been left on the table.
"Can you please save your lectures for later, Xena?" the bard asked, hoping the pathetic tone in her voice would convince the warrior to have mercy on her. No such luck.
"Gabrielle, what you did today was stupid, reckless, and above all, dangerous," Xena told her as she dipped a cloth from the healing kit into the bowl of water. The blonde winced as the warrior cleaned the blood off her face, despite how gentle her friend was being.
"I know," the bard said. "I'd like to say that it won't happen again, but I'm pretty sure that Velasca isn't going to be happy that a little girl like me managed to beat her." Xena watched as her friend lowered her head so that she wouldn't have to face her. Using her free hand, the warrior lifted the blonde's chin up and found that the emerald eyes were beginning to fill with tears that were barely held in check.
"Hey, it's alright," she assured the bard, surprising them both with her sudden mood swing. Why couldn't she ever stay mad at Gabrielle? "Just try to stay out of trouble as long as you can, okay? Judging by how you look, I'm sure Velasca will be out of the picture for at least the rest of the day," she said with a smirk. The bard nodded her head before wiping at her eyes to stop the tears from falling, smearing dirt on her face in the process. Xena shook her head in amusement before returning her attention back on the bard's nose. She grimaced at its displacement.
"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Of course, Gabrielle already knew the answer. It wasn't the first time she had suffered a broken nose.
"I'm afraid so." The warrior confirmed her suspicions before placing her hand on the sore body part as gently as she could. "Ready?"
The bard gave a slight nod and Xena quickly pushed on her nose, the bone making a sickening crunch as she realigned the pieces. Gabrielle's eyes slammed shut and a small whimper escaped her throat despite her efforts to block out the pain. Even after Xena had set the bone, the pain lingered as a steady throbbing on her face.
When Gabrielle opened her eyes again, she found herself looking into questioning blue irises. She gave a nod of her head to signal that she was okay. It was also a way to show her thanks for fixing her nose. Xena didn't say a thing, instead choosing to shift her attention to the bard's other injuries. The next on her list of things to inspect was Gabrielle's lip.
"She backhanded me," the blonde offered in explanation when she noticed Xena staring at her mouth. "I thought I might have bitten it, but I guess she just split it. Lucky me, huh?"
"Yeah. Lucky you," Xena drawled before reaching for the damp cloth once more and dabbing at the split lower lip. "That's going to look really pretty later. You're not going to be in a kissing mood for a while," the warrior gently teased in a poor attempt to lighten the mood.
"Who is Momma gonna kiss?" Nexa asked, reminding both adults that she was in the room. Gabrielle looked down at the child beside her and patted her on the shoulder.
"Momma doesn't plan on kissing anybody except you any time soon," she told her daughter with a smile.
"Because your lip hurts?" Gabrielle shook her head. "Well then why not?" her daughter asked in frustration.
"Because I haven't found anybody that wants to kiss me back, silly girl," the bard answered before giving the girl a quick peck on the top of her head. She winced when she realized that Xena had been right. When she looked back, said warrior appeared to be lost in her thoughts. "You alright?"
"Hm? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine," Xena said before bringing the cloth back up to finish the job she had started. As she dabbed at the cut, she couldn't help but think that she would have no problem kissing the bard back. Now if only she could work up the courage to tell Gabrielle that.
"Are you sure you're alright? You seem a little out of it," Gabrielle asked again.
"I said I'm fine," Xena assured her, although there was a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'm not the one who got beat up today," she reminded the bard as she checked over the lip once more. "Hm... It looks like you won't be needing stitches for that one."
"Well that's a small blessing," the blonde said with a sigh of relief before giving Xena an indignant look. "And I'll have you know that I gave as good as I got," she argued with a slight pout.
"Uh-huh," Xena humored the bard as she dipped the cloth into the bowl once more. "I'm sure you did. Now let me get to this cut over here," Xena said before dabbing the wet cloth on the cut located on her chest. She could feel her friend's body tense under her touch, but whether it was from the pain she was feeling or because of her hand's proximity to certain body parts, Xena didn't know. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just... I just had an unplanned trip down memory lane, is all," the bard assured her, accompanying her words with a wan smile. As she cleaned out the dagger wound, the warrior wondered how often Perdicas' hands had wandered to the same area without the bard's permission. She quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. She didn't want to lose control of her temper while she was supposed to be helping her friend.
"This should be fine, but I want to put a couple stitches in it. Just to be safe," she finally told the bard after an uncomfortable period spent in silence.
"Are you sure? I mean, will it be fine even if I don't get stitches?" Gabrielle asked, looking down at the wound and then looking back up at Xena. "If you're worried about there being a scar, I wouldn't really mind having one. It's not like anyone looks there anyway."
"Gabrielle, you've had stitches before. You know it's not going to hurt that bad."
"It's not the pain I'm worried about, Xena. I'm just... scared," Gabrielle said in a whisper so low that the warrior had to strain her ears to hear it. She heard it though and it didn't take an oracle to know what her friend was scared of. A few seconds passed with neither friend doing a thing before Xena awkwardly reached over and pulled Gabrielle towards her, allowing the bard to rest her head on her shoulder.
"You have nothing to be afraid of anymore. He's not here and I won't let anyone else hurt you like that," she cooed into her friend's ear as she felt hot, silent tears soaking her leathers. As she held her friend in her arms, she mentally cursed the gods for allowing such a horrible fate to fall on such a gentle soul. She desperately wished that Gabrielle hadn't killed Perdicas just so she could have had the pleasure of running her sword through him herself.
"Xena..." Gabrielle said as she pulled away from the warrior. "I think I'm alright now."
"Are you sure?" The bard nodded her head, but the warrior was still skeptic. "I don't have to give you stitches if you really don't want me to."
"It's fine, Xena. I... I don't think I really want another scar, especially if something can be done to prevent it," Gabrielle assured her, although her voice was a little shaky. Xena nodded her understanding before reaching over to the table for the needle and thread and starting on the cut.
"All done," she said a few minutes later. She had given the bard a total of eight stitches. She had kept them tiny and precise to reduce the chances of scarring, just as she had promised. "Anything else you want to tell me about?" Gabrielle shook her head but then seemed to think of something.
"Well, I'm going to have a bruise on my side and I'm sure that there's going to be a bump on the back of my head later, but nothing's broken so there's not really a lot you can do about it," she said with a shrug. "You can take a look if you want, though."
"No, I think I'll take your word for it," Xena told her with a smile before resting a hand on her shoulder. "Go take a bath. I'll keep Nexa entertained until you get back." Gabrielle nodded her head before ruffling her daughter's hair and getting up from the bed. She quickly made her way out of the room so that she could get clean. The sooner she got clean, the sooner she could spend time with her daughter.
Xena watched as the bard's left the room and continued to stare at the doorway until she felt a tug on her hand. She looked down to find intense blue eyes that mirrored her own looking up at her from a childish face.
"What's on your mind, little one?" she asked as she took a seat next to the child.
"Did you fix Momma's booboos?" the small blonde asked. Xena nodded as she started to absently run her hand through the blonde locks of the little girl's fine hair. "All of them?" The warrior stopped her hand as she contemplated how to answer Nexa's question.
"I'm working on it, little one. I'm working on it," she finally said. "Your mother has a lot of booboos so it might take awhile to make all of them feel better. Understand?" The blonde girl nodded before an idea popped into her head.
"You should kiss her!" Nexa suggested. Xena chuckled at the suggestion before ruffling the child's hair, much to the little girl's annoyance. She gave Xena an indignant look, which simply added to the warrior's amusement.
"You're a cute kid, you know that?"
"Yup." Nexa beamed up at the warrior, who was rolling her eyes at the little girl's big ego.
"Modest, too," she said sarcastically. The little girl simply smiled at her. "Well if you think you're so great, why don't we play a game?" she suggested, doing her best to change the subject. She was rewarded with a bright smile and enthusiastic nodding. "Well then that settles it. You go hide somewhere in this room and I'll come find you," Xena told her, not realizing that by uttering those words she was going to be in for a world of frustration by the end of the night.
When Gabrielle returned to her room, freshly showered and changed into clean clothes, the first thing she saw was a certain warrior princess on all fours looking underneath their bed. She raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what her friend was looking for. She watched as Xena stood up and scratched the back of her neck before pulling the covers off of the bed.
"Mind telling me what you're searching so diligently for?" she finally asked when she gave up on trying to figure it out for herself. The warrior's head snapped back to the doorway and Gabrielle could see the frustration on her face.
"Your daughter," was the only answer she gave before she put the covers back and checked under the bed for a second time, this time sticking her entire head underneath it so she could see better. She growled when she didn't find the little girl and lifted her head up. She cursed under her breath when her head hit the bed frame.
"Careful there, warrior. I don't want you in bed with a concussion when I have to fight Velasca for the throne," Gabrielle teased her. Xena glared at her before getting to her feet. "Want some help?" she offered. The warrior thought about it for a few seconds before nodding her head.
"That would be nice." The bard smiled before walking over and heading straight for the chest that Xena had gotten the healing supplies out of. She frowned when she didn't find her daughter there. "Already checked it," Xena told her, although there was a small smile tugging at her lips now that she had someone there to share her frustration.
"I see..." Gabrielle said before closing her eyes and concentrating. The warrior watched as the bard walked over to the doorway and looked back at her with a smile. "You told her to stay in the room, didn't you?" she asked. She laughed when Xena nodded. "Big mistake. Nexa doesn't listen do well with rules," she explained before leaving the room and going to Ephiny's.
As she approached the door to her friend's room, a familiar tingling sensation went up her spine for the second time in as many days. Panic flooded through her and she forced the door open with a hard shove. She opened it to find the God of War with her daughter on his knee while he sat on Ephiny's bed.
"Nexa, sweetie, come here," Gabrielle coaxed her daughter once she found her voice again. The blonde girl looked up at the man holding her and then back at her mother before moving to get off of the man's lap. A strong arm stopped her from moving, however.
"Let her go, Ares," came the low growl from Xena as she appeared in the room next to Gabrielle.
"I swear, this is the reception I get every time I stop in for a visit," the God of War said. "Really Xena, you'd think that we'd be past this by now. Especially after all that we've been through together."
"Funny. I didn't think gods could be delusional," the warrior said as she placed a calming hand on Gabrielle's shoulder. The bard looked as if she was ready to pounce on the god holding her daughter captive.
"Ouch! You know, that really hurts," he retorted before looking down at the little girl on his lap. "All of this hostility for one mortal. And not even for a full-grown mortal, either," he mused before looking back up at Xena and Gabrielle. "Then again, her lineage is pretty impressive. I wouldn't mind looking after this little Amazon princess."
"Ares, if you try to influence Nexa in any way, I'll-"
"You'll what? Kill me?" Ares asked with a smirk. "Good luck with that. In case you forgot, I'm a god. That makes me pretty immortal, bard."
"That doesn't mean you're immune to punishment of the divine type, bro," a new voice interrupted them before Aphrodite appeared next to her brother with a shower of sparkles. "And if you don't let Nexxie go, I'll pop right back to Olympus before you can say 'Eternity in Tartarus'," she threatened with her hands on her hips. The God of War scowled at his baby sister before looking at the little girl on his lap. He mentally weighed whether or not she would be worth spending eternity in the Underworld. "Hurry up. You've got like, five seconds before I pop back to Daddy and tell him what's up."
Ares released a frustrated growl before letting go of the little girl on his lap. Nexa immediately slip off of his knee and ran to her mother. Gabrielle bent down and brought her daughter into her arms before picking her up and pulling her closer to her. Aphrodite watched the scene with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Good boy," she told her brother, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, don't you have some like, grody warriors to train or do something else that involves getting all sweaty?”
“I wouldn’t mind doing something that would get me all sweaty,” he remarked as he looked the warrior princess over with a lecherous gleam in his eyes.
“It’s not going to happen so don’t even fantasize about it, Ares.”
“More hostility. Why am I not surprised?” he asked before looking over at Gabrielle. “How about you, bard? Are you sure you don’t want to join forces? Judging by how you look, your first fight with Velasca didn’t go as smooth as you planned. Do you think you’ll be able to beat her a second time without my help?”
“Get lost, Ares. I’ve told you before that I don’t want to be associated with you. At all,” she told him, subconsciously pulling her daughter closer to her. “And I’m getting tired of your offers so you can take them and shove them up your-”
“I think he gets the point, Sweet Pea,” Aphrodite cut her off before looking over at her older sibling. “Isn’t that right, bro?” she asked. A sneer appeared on the god’s face before he glared over at the two women in the doorway.
“You don’t know what you’re missing out on,” he told them before disappearing with a flash of blue light. Gabrielle sighed with relief as she set her daughter back down on the ground.
“Auntie Aphrodite!” the little girl squealed before running over to the Goddess of Love. Xena was reminded of the scene she had witnessed the first time the goddess had shown up as she watched Nexa wrap her arms around the goddess’s waist. Just as she had done last time, Aphrodite simply patted the girl on the head as a sign of affection. Although, this time she didn’t make the child go away.
“You would think that by now he’d know when to give up on something,” she mused before noticing the confused expression on the bard’s face. Anticipating the question that she was sure to ask, Aphrodite explained why Nexa knew her. “Now don’t freak out, Sweet Pea. Nexxie and I go way back.” When she saw that Gabrielle wasn’t going to interrupt her, she continued. “You see, when I found out what was going on with that brute you called a husband, I pulled a few tricks so that you could get something that would give you the strength to hang on a little longer.”
“You mean, you planted the idea in Perdicas’ head to impregnate me?” the bard asked, wondering just what the goddess was getting at.
“Sweet Pea, that idiot couldn’t get you pregnant even if he had all of the magical help in the world,” Aphrodite said with a giggle. “He didn’t have what it takes, if you know what I mean,” she explained. “Isn’t that right, Nexxie?” she asked, getting a nod in return.
“Wha.... You mean... Are you saying that...” Gabrielle couldn’t get a complete sentence out no matter how hard she tried. She was too busy trying to wrap her mind around what Aphrodite had just told her.
“Perdicas isn’t Nexa’s father,” Xena said, confirming the bard’s beliefs. “I don’t know how she did it, but Aphrodite gave you a daughter.”
“What do you mean you don’t know how I did it? Helloooo? Anyone home in your head, Warrior Babe? I’m a god. I can do that.” The warrior felt her annoyance rising because of the irksome goddess. Aphrodite must have caught on to her mood though and wisely decided to be quiet.
“If... If Perdicas isn’t her father, then who is?” Gabrielle finally asked once she was able to get her words in order. A gleaming smile appeared on Aphrodite’s face.
“Well now that you’re all together, I guess I can like, give you the scoop,” she said, her excitement showing in her voice. Before she could open her mouth to speak again, however, Ephiny burst into the room. “Or not...”
“My queen, Velasca wishes to have an audience with you in the village,” the curly haired Amazon informed them before she noticed Nexa clinging to a scantily-clad blonde woman. “Who’re you?”
“Who am... Do you not recognize a goddess when you see one? Just because I’m not Arty,” Aphrodite pouted, crossing her arms. Nexa giggled at her actions while Ephiny simply raised an eyebrow before speaking with Gabrielle again.
“As I was saying, Velasca is in the middle of the village, demanding to speak with you. I’ll give you three guesses as to what she wants, but you’ll only need one.” Gabrielle sighed before looking over at the warrior princess.
“She’ll be out of the picture of the rest of the day, huh?” Xena winced when the bard repeated her words from earlier. Why couldn’t they get a day of peace for once?
“I guess we should go get this over with,” she said with a shrug. Gabrielle nodded her agreement before looking at Ephiny and then at the Goddess of Love, who had moved to the bed and was playing some kind of clapping game with her daughter.
“Aphrodite, do you think you could um... keep an eye on her while I handle this?” she asked. The goddess looked up at her with a toothy smile before nodding her head. “Thanks.”
“Oh, no problem. Nexxie and I are going to have a good time. Aren’t we, cutie?” The little girl nodded her head as she beamed up at the goddess. “I thought so. Now let Auntie ‘Dite teach you how to like, beautify your hair.” The fighters in the room rolled their eyes at the suggestion before going to take care of the business outside.
When they exited the hut, Gabrielle found that the most of the Amazons had gathered to the center of the village square and she was almost overwhelmed by the amount. Most of them had formed a circle around Velasca and the bard swallowed hard when she realized that they were all her supporters. She quickly prayed to Artemis that she would be able to change their minds after her fight with the former queen. She wouldn’t be able to rule over them if she only had a handful of supporters.
“Your highness,” Velasca called out from the center of the circle, “I am a loyal Amazon and I want whatever is best for this tribe. You are not even close to what we need. I, however, am.” There was a roar as her followers cheered her on. “I declare the royal challenge! Accept or suffer the consequences!” Every person in the village that had witnessed the challenge could feel the anticipation in the air as they waited for the bard’s response. Their queen did not disappoint.
“I accept.” Another, louder roar rang through the forest as every Amazon cheered, ready to see a fight. It was a familiar sound to the bard. She had heard the roar of the crowd many times while in the prison. This time, however, she wasn’t listening to the cheers; she was focusing on her opponent as she set the terms for the fight.
“You’re only delaying the inevitable, Gabrielle, but that just makes it more fun for me. Be here tomorrow as soon as Apollo pulls the sun over the horizon. Bring whatever weapon you want to use, not that it will do you much good,” the former queen told her before a smirk appeared on her face. “I hope that you’re a fan of pain, little girl, because you’ll be feeling a lot of it tomorrow.”
The bard watched as Velasca disappeared after issuing the threat before retreating into her own hut. As soon as they were all inside and the door was closed, Gabrielle felt herself beginning to sway. Xena quickly reached out and steadied her by holding onto her shoulder.
“I’m alright. Just a little... overwhelmed,” the bard explained but she didn’t bother to remove Xena’s hand from its resting place. “I think... I think I should probably go lay down,” she said before heading over to her sleeping quarters. Ephiny gave Xena a worried look before motioning for her to follow after the bard. The warrior nodded and quickly entered Gabrielle’s room. She found the bard sitting on the bed and staring at the floor.
“I thought you said you were going to lay down?” she asked, causing the blonde to jump in surprise. “I guess you changed your mind though, huh?” Seeing the bard nod, she walked over and took a seat next to her.
“Sorry. I’m just a little nervous right now. I can’t even think straight,” Gabrielle explained. “It’s like my mind keeps going around in circles and I can’t stop it, let alone get a coherent thought to make itself known.” The bard leaned against her friend and rested her head on Xena’s shoulder, an action that was beginning to turn into a habit with her. “Hades, I can’t even think of a weapon to use against her. She has had years of training as an Amazon with a multitude of weapons and all I’ve had is a year with you and a six month crash course with Callisto.”
“You were always pretty good with a staff,” Xena finally interjected. Gabrielle laughed aloud at that, but there was no trace of humor in it. “I haven’t touched a staff in years. I don’t even have my old one anymore.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” the warrior told her before getting up from her bed and going to the corner of the room where they kept their bags. The blonde curiously watched as her friend searched through the bags before finding what she was looking for. She gasped in surprise when Xena turned around.
“My staff!” she said before practically jumping off the bed and running over to the warrior. “Where did you get this?” she asked as she took the parts of her weapon from her friend and started putting it together.
“I’ve been holding on to it since you left,” Xena admitted. “I thought that you would want it if you... if you ever came back.” Gabrielle looked up from her weapon and smiled at the warrior.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Xena. You’re the greatest,” she beamed before wrapping her arms around the warrior, careful not to bump her with the staff in her hand. Xena stood there for a few seconds in shock before awkwardly wrapping her arms around the woman in her arms.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I can’t be the greatest while you’re still around,” she whispered into the bard’s ear before resting her cheek on Gabrielle’s head. They stood like that for many moments before a cough from the doorway alerted them to someone else’s presence. They looked over to find Solan waiting with the bard‘s daughter, who was obviously enjoying watching them together.
“Um... Aphrodite had to go. She told me to tell you that you had better kick some butt tomorrow or else she won’t tell you who Nexa’s real father is,” he told them, shifting on his feet as he spoke. He was slightly embarrassed that he had walked in on such a tender moment.
“Er... well um... thank you, Solan,” Gabrielle said as she regretfully pulled away from the warrior. “You’ve been a big help lately. I don’t know how to repay you for it.”
“Don’t worry about it, Gabrielle. You’re my friend,” he brushed her off before letting go of Nexa’s hand. The little girl quickly ran over to her mother’s side and wrapped her in a hug.
“You gonna beat up the bad Am’zon lady?” she asked, looking up at her mother with curious eyes.
“Yeah, I’m gonna beat up the bad Am’zon lady,” Gabrielle assured her daughter as she ran a hand through the little girl’s hair. ‘I hope,’ she mentally added on before glancing at the staff in her hand. She hoped for the Amazons’ sake that she really could beat Velasca before the former queen could lead them to their own destruction.