The gentle pitter-patter of raindrops striking wood assaulted the bard's ears as she lay awake in her bed, her daughter wrapped in her arms next to her; and Xena's warm body on the other side. Despite the comforting presence on both sides of her, Gabrielle was unable to drift asleep; even though she knew she needed it. She wished that she could say that her insomnia was because of her curiosity about who Nexa's real father was; or because she was worried about the fight that was going to take place in a few hours. While both things were on her mind, they weren't the thoughts that were keeping her awake.
Instead, she was thinking about the dark woman sleeping behind her. When she had made the comment to her daughter about not knowing of anyone that wanted to kiss her back it had looked like the warrior was getting ready to prove her wrong. The look in her eyes had certainly been sending that message anyways.
"Silly warrior," she thought aloud as she brought up a small hand and lay it on the strong arm wrapped around her. She could feel the relaxed muscles beneath the smooth skin and a smile unconsciously spread across her lips. There was a small voice in her head telling her that she should be worrying about something more important than the warrior's feelings for her. There was another one telling her that she picked a horrible time to do something about her feelings for the warrior. Her heart was drowning those voices out. "You're going to make me work for this, aren't you?"
Her question was answered in the form of soft, warm breaths tickling the flesh on the back of her neck. Gabrielle's smile grew as she finally closed her eyes, relaxing into Xena's sleepy, but still protective, embrace. As she lay there in the warrior's strong arms her thoughts finally came to a halt. Her worries about the morning to come had finally left her and she soon found herself surrendering to Morpheus's attempts to bring her into his realm.
The next thing Gabrielle was aware of was a calloused hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. The bard groaned before rolling over onto the now empty side of the bed. Pale brows furrowed together in a frown as she wondered where her warrior had gone off to. Wanting to solve this particular mystery, one sleepy, green eye opened and scanned the room for her missing companion. She didn't have to look far.
Standing next to the bed was Xena, already in her armor and ready to start the day. Gabrielle muttered a curse as she realized that Xena had been the one shaking her. The bard quickly closed her eye, hoping that her friend hadn't seen it.
"Gabrielle, I know you're awake." The blonde muttered another muffled obscenity before opening both of her eyes and looking up at Xena with a pout. "You do know that they aren't going to postpone the fight just because you don't want to get out of bed, right?"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
The bard groaned once more before pulling the blanket off and leaving the comfort of her warm bed. She shivered a bit as she wrapped her arms around her body and tried to rub some warmth into her now cold limbs. It wasn't freezing out but she would much rather be under the cozy blankets. "Good girl. Now go on and get dressed. Try to limit the cursing to a minimum, though. You don't want to wake up your daughter with that sailor's mouth of yours."
"Yes Mother," Gabrielle mumbled as her friend turned to leave. Xena didn't have to look to know that her smaller companion was rolling her eyes at her motherly behavior. She chuckled to herself before leaving so that the bard could get dressed with some privacy. After Xena left, Gabrielle looked at her daughter still laying in bed and wished that she could be there with her. She hoped that she would have the chance to spend more time with the youngster once the Velasca business was dealt with.
As she thought about the situation with the former queen, she realized that she didn't really have anything that was suitable to wear for the fight. She mumbled something to herself before going over to the bags in the corner, hoping she could throw something together with what she had. There was more angry muttering when she couldn't find anything.
"Great. I'm going to be late because I can't find anything to wear," she complained aloud before the chest at the foot of the bed caught her eyes. "Hm... I wonder if that only holds healing supplies," she wondered before crossing over to it and opening the lid. A frown quickly replaced the hopeful look on her face when all she found was said healing supplies and a few scrolls.
"Don't tell me that you plan on fighting in your sleeping shift. That would be a big fashion no-no," a familiar voice commented from behind her, making the bard jump. She quickly whirled around and found a smiling Goddess of Love standing with her hands on her hips.
"Are you trying to scare me to death?" she asked. The goddess simply giggled in response. "Can I help you?"
"Actually, I was thinking that I could like, kind of give you some godly assistance," Aphrodite said with a shrug as she popped herself over to the bed and sat next to Nexa. "But then again, if that's the greeting I'm going to get, I don't see why I should waste the effort." There was an audible sigh that came from the bard before she walked over and sat next to the blonde goddess, who had begun playing with the little girl's hair.
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried," Gabrielle apologized, keeping her gaze on the floor. "I may have defeated Velasca yesterday but today... I just don't know if I can beat her. I haven't used a staff in years and I won't use my sais because I don't want to kill her."
"Well then just use the staff. Trust me, Sweet Pea. Things are going to work out for the best. You're a rad fighter and can kick that nasty Amazon’s butt any time,” Aphrodite assured her with a smile on her face.
“Oh really? And what, exactly, tells you that I’ll be able to beat her? Don’t tell me that you’re best friends with the Fates.”
“Honey, I don’t need those old hags to know that you’ll be the reigning queen of Artie’s little warriors by the end of the morning. You fight for the best reason there is to fight,” the goddess told her. “You fight from the heart and to protect the ones you love. Velasca doesn’t know what those things are, even when they‘re standing right in front of her.”
Gabrielle sat on the bed, speechless. She had never heard Aphrodite sound like she knew what she was talking about. It was the first time that she had ever considered the ditzy blonde to be wiser than she appeared.
“I... Thanks, Aphrodite,” she stammered, unable to think of anything else to say. “That still doesn’t solve my clothing problem. I can’t really fight her in the rags I own.” The goddess giggled, her nose scrunching up as she did so.
“Oh, Sweet Pea. You are so talking to the right god,” she squealed as she stood up from the bed. “I have the perfect outfit in mind. Don’t worry, though. I promise not to make it too like, girly. I don’t think Artie would appreciate it if I made her queen pretty in pink.”
“Wha- You don’t have to do this,” Gabrielle protested, only to have Aphrodite hold up a hand to silence her protests. The bard sighed, giving in to the goddess. “Alright. Do your worst, I guess.” Aphrodite squealed in delight and lifted her hands, only to be stopped by the blonde again. “Before you uh... dress me up... could you promise me something?”
“Sure thing, Sweet Pea,” the goddess said excitedly, eager to start her work on the little blonde.
“If things don’t turn out well, get the others to safety. I don’t want them getting hurt if I can’t beat Velasca.”
“I already told you; you’re going to beat her.”
“I know, but I’d feel safer knowing that they have you looking after them,” Gabrielle told her with a small smile. “Promise me... please?” Aphrodite rolled her eyes before nodding her head.
“Fine. I promise that if anything ever happens to you, I’ll get your little posse outta the danger zone,” she said, crossing her heart with her fingers. “Now then... let this goddess do what she does best.” With that, Gabrielle closed her eyes and allowed Aphrodite to dress her in what she deemed acceptable.
While the bard was getting ready with the help of a certain goddess, the warrior princess was waiting in the living space of the queen's hut with the other members of their group. One group member in particular was being rather impatient.
"Is she ready to go?" Amarice asked as soon as the warrior shut the door to the queen's quarters. Xena shook her head. "Great. By the time she's ready, Velasca and her supporters will be throwing a celebration feast."
"If you're in such a hurry, why don't you go fight Velasca yourself?" Ephiny asked the young woman with a glare before returning her attention to the weapon in her hands that she had been trusted to look after; Gabrielle's disassembled staff. Amarice wisely decided to bite back the response that was resting on the tip of her tongue while having the decency to look properly chastised by the unofficial arms bearer. "Gabrielle still has time before the fight starts. Don't start panicking until she's really late."
"I really hope you're not talking about me," came the bard's voice from the doorway. Xena watched as everyone's jaw dropped, including Amarice's. When she turned around she found out why they all had such incredulous looks on their faces. The warrior could barely stop her own jaw from dropping at the sight of the bard.
Gabrielle was wearing traditional Amazon armor, showing off more skin than Xena was used to. The leather, bra-like top was dyed a dark red and beads dangled from the bottom. The top allowed a good view of the blonde's assets and her toned abdomen, along with the scars that were scattered all over the bard's body. Xena highly doubted that the Amazons would be looking at the marks, though. The warrior's ire rose at the thought of the other women leering at the bard.
She shoved the feeling to the back of her mind as she finally registered the rest of Gabrielle's clothing. The bard wore a light brown skirt made of leather and deer skin decorated with silver beads sewn into the fabric in the pattern of a bird in flight. It fell to the middle of her thighs, giving her legs enough room to move freely, while a pair of tan, leather boots protected the blonde's feet. The outfit was completed by the thick, silver bands around the blonde's wrists.
"Wow..." A blush appeared on the bard's cheeks before she turned away, a little embarrassed by the shocked reaction from the warrior.
"Xena, I'm only dressed for a fight," she pointed out to her friend. Realizing that she had spoken aloud, the taller woman had to fight back a blush of her own.
"Well, you still look good," Ephiny filled in for the speechless warrior before going over and wrapping Gabrielle in a quick hug. "Go kick some ass, huh kid?"
The bard nodded before looking at Xena with an expectant expression on her face. Xena returned the look before catching on that the bard was waiting for her.
'Pull yourself together, Warrior,' she mentally commanded herself as she took her place at her friend's side. 'Don't let a pretty outfit distract you from protecting her.' Her resolve renewed, she escorted the bard out of the hut. They hadn't gone far when a thought occurred to the Warrior Princess. 'Did I just think the word 'pretty'? I didn't even know that word was in my vocabulary!' Realizing that she was becoming distracted again, Xena straightened up and pushed the thoughts from her head.
When they arrived at the sparring ring, the group wasn't surprised to see the whole Amazon nation waiting around it. It had been a while since they had seen a true challenge for the mask of the queen. Most were split about who they wanted to win the fight. Velasca promised them the return to their former glory but the consequence to that was the loss of sisters to war. Gabrielle promised a life of doing what was right but it was hard to believe someone that hadn't been with them when they needed her.
"Glad to see that you finally decided to show up, Gabrielle," Velasca greeted her with a sneer. "And I see you found something appropriate to wear," she remarked, gesturing towards the outfit that the queen wore. "Tell me: Did you steal it from a true Amazon?"
"Funny. I was just about to ask you the same question," the blonde shot back with a smirk. Velasca's scowl deepened but she refrained from saying anything further. "That's what I thought," Gabrielle said before looking back at Ephiny. The other Amazon nodded before handing her the disassembled staff. The bard nodded her thanks as she took the weapon from her friend and quickly pieced it together.
"You're seriously going to fight her with that?" Eva's familiar challenging voice floated up from behind Velasca. Gabrielle could detect something different to it this time, though. It sounded something like doubt. "You're going to be dead before you know it then, little girl."
"We'll see," the blonde said, humoring the angry redhead as she absently tested the weight of the weapon in her hands. She glanced at Velasca's group for a moment and was satisfied to see the unnerved look on her rival's face. She was sure that the other woman was unused to others brushing her off so easily.
Without warning, the bard began spinning the staff, twirling it around her body in intricate motions that were almost too fast to follow, even for Xena. It would seem that Gabrielle's muscles still remembered how to use a staff and her experiences in the prison had only improved the skill she had with her hands.
"Done showing off, Gabrielle?" the former queen asked with a smirk once Gabrielle stopped the sudden warm-up. It quickly disappeared when the bard simply shrugged in response. "Eva!" she barked once she realized that was the only answer she was going to receive. Her companion hurried to her side, staff already in hand. "Thanks," she said before shoving the younger woman back into the crowd. "Lets get this over with, little girl."
As soon as the words left the former queen's lips, the rest of the Amazons formed a close-knit circle around the two fighters. The two wasted no time in beginning the fight and the spectators were soon watching them trade blows with one another. One foolish spectator tried to shove her way in front of Xena to get a better view, only to back off when the warrior glared at her. There was no way she was letting anyone in her path to Gabrielle.
The warrior winced as she watched the bard take a particularly painful looking blow to the chest. She mentally cheered, however, when the blonde retaliated by swiping her staff at Velasca's side and made contact. The attack made the darker woman stumble slightly, giving Gabrielle the chance to hit her in the knee as she tried to regain her balance. Xena gave another mental cheer when she saw the former queen fall to one knee, only to frown when she rolled out of the way of the bard's downward strike to her shoulder.
More strikes were attempted as soon as Velasca regained her footing, but each one was blocked. Before long, the darker woman was shoving the blonde backwards. Gabrielle managed to keep her footing and the distance between them. She used the momentary reprieve to catch her breath and to mentally assess any damage that had been done.
She could feel blood running down her chest, alerting her that the stitches hadn't held. Her hands were also beginning to ache from the jarring hits that she had blocked from the other woman. On the upside though, she wasn't out of breath yet.
'Too bad she isn't either,' she pointed out to herself with a mental sigh as she cautiously watched Velasca take stock of her own injuries. Before her thoughts could continue, her opponent was coming at her once more. She just barely blocked an attack at her head before bringing the end of the staff down to stop a blow to her knee cap. She couldn't stop the satisfied smirk that appeared when she saw Velasca's frustrated scowl.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up yet, little girl," the other woman told her in a low growl as she pushed the middle of her staff against Gabrielle's, forming a cross with the weapons. It took all of the bard's strength to hold the weapon back. "Once I beat you, I'm going to make you watch as I kill everyone dear to you. Then we'll see who's smiling."
The bard's eyes narrowed at the whispered threat. Before the other woman could blink, Gabrielle kicked her in the stomach and made her back off once more. The blonde wasted no time in her second strike, swinging the staff at the side of Velasca's head with an angry shout. The darker woman managed to roll with the strike, however, allowing her to remain conscious. In a great deal of pain, but still conscious.
"I guess I struck a nerve," she mused, a pained smile on her face. The bard said nothing, instead opting to chance an overhead strike. Velasca blocked the attack just before it reached her head. "I especially can't wait to kill Xena," she admitted to the blonde in a low, menacing voice before shoving Gabrielle away from her. There was another angry shout and Velasca was just barely able to stop the attack that Gabrielle aimed at her side. She got the opening she wanted, however, and brought the other end of her staff down hard on the blonde's shoulder.
Xena had to stop herself from running out to the center of the ring when she saw her friend fall to her knees in pain, dropping her staff in the process. It was even harder to control herself when she saw Velasca hit her in the side of the head, returning the favor from earlier. The warrior's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists, mentally willing Gabrielle to do something before Velasca had the chance to crush her skull. She frowned when Velasca said something, obviously upsetting the blonde, but it was replaced by a proud smile when she heard her friend's response.
"I think you talk too much, bitch!" the bard shouted before kicking her foot out at her opponent's ankles, bringing her to the ground as well. Gabrielle got to her feet, bringing her staff with her, and quickly backed away. Before she could test her arm, Velasca was up and covering the space that she had put between them. The blonde gritted her teeth as she blocked a swipe aimed at her neck, the force jarring her injured arm. Her opponent didn't give her time to readjust her grip as she quickly lowered the other end of her staff to hit her in the side. Gabrielle winced as the strike made contact but she retaliated by landing a hit to Velasca's thigh.
She didn't know how long had gone by before they both backed off once more. Both fighters gulped down air as they assessed the new injuries they had received, the worst of Gabrielle's being the bruised fingers that had a death grip on her staff. She had gone to block an attack to her side and ended up getting her fingers crushed by the other staff instead. She had left Velasca with a horizontal bruise across her stomach in response. She mentally congratulated herself for making contact with the hit as she rushed to get in the much needed air before her opponent did.
Once she was breathing somewhat regularly again, Gabrielle ran at Velasca once more with the length of her staff resting against her good arm. The blonde spun just before she reached her opponent and allowed the staff to slide in her hand a bit as she moved. Time seemed to slow down when she felt the wood make contact with flesh. When she faced Velasca again she found her with one hand holding her side.
The bard wasted no time in taking advantage of the other woman's lowered defenses and slammed her staff into the side of Velasca's head once more, knocking the woman to the ground. She kicked the Amazon's staff out of reach before stepping over her and pressing the end of her staff to her opponent's throat. Out of the corner of her eye she could see fellow Amazons making bets, most likely on whether or not she would kill Velasca or not.
"Yield, Velasca," the bard commanded, resisting the urge to remove one of her hands from her weapon to wipe away the perspiration that was dripping into her eyes. The only answer she received was a glare. "I said yield!" she shouted, pressing down on the woman's throat as her eyes blazed with anger.
"Just kill me, little girl," Velasca choked out. "It's a fight to the death, after all."
"That's where you're wrong. I am no little girl and it was a fight for the mask. Not to the death," Gabrielle reminded her. "And killing you would just be giving you what you want; to die as an Amazon. Well I won't give you that satisfaction."
"I said kill me! Or are you too afraid to do it?" Velasca spat out, obviously not paying attention to what the bard was saying.
"And I said yield!" Gabrielle shouted back, putting more pressure on the prone woman's throat. "I'm not afraid to take a life, Velasca; I've done it before and I'll most likely do it again, whether I want to or not. It just won't be yours. I will, however, make you experience extreme amounts of pain if you don't do as I say," she told her. "Now yield."
Seeing that the blonde wasn't bluffing, the former queen scowled before raising her hands in surrender. Gabrielle waited a few moments before pulling her staff away from her throat. She was sure to keep it close to Velasca's exposed neck, however, just in case she tried something stupid.
"Amazons," the bard started, never taking her eyes off of the woman beneath her. "I have been told that you recently lost a sister and because of that loss, war has been declared on the centaurs." She had to resist the urge to cover her ears when nearly every Amazon yelled in response to the question. Once the noise died down, she continued with her questioning.
"Well maybe you can tell me something. What do the centaurs have to gain from going to war with us? Certainly not our land. You've seen them try to traverse through a forest. Wealth? We don't even use the same currency so that can‘t be it." The murmurs that echoed through the group of women was the only answer she needed before she pushed on.
"What if I told you that Eponin wasn't killed by a centaur, but by the very woman below me?" Silence was her response. She glanced up and was shocked to see every member of the tribe's focus entirely on her. "The woman that Velasca labeled as a traitor found evidence that Eponin was killed by an Amazon," she explained before glancing over at Ephiny. "Care to share it with us?"
"It would be my pleasure, my Queen," the curly-haired Amazon said before untying a pouch from her belt as fast as she could, knowing that Gabrielle was beginning to tire. "This is a patch of leather that I found left behind where we found Eponin."
"That could be from anyone, including a centaur," Eva spoke up in an attempt to defend her friend. It sounded like a rather weak attempt to anyone who was listening, though.
"I applaud your observational skills Eva, but if you'd let me finish you'd know that I found this in a tree. Do you know any centaurs that can climb trees?" Ephiny asked, successfully silencing Velasca's defender. "That's what I thought," she said before continuing. "Any Amazon that has ever been close to her can tell that this belongs to Velasca. It has part of the snake that was embroidered into her armor on it."
The curly-haired woman held up the fabric for all to see before throwing it to the ground. Almost immediately there was a rush of murmurs traveling throughout the women. Gabrielle waited until they were done speaking with one another before telling them her judgement of the woman that lay beneath her.
"Amazons, I find Velasca guilty of murder and treason. I will not, however, give her the death that she believes she rightfully deserves," she told them. Their expected protests rang out through the village and she patiently waited for them to die down before she continued. "I will banish her, though. I will also strip away any rights she had as an Amazon." She watched as Velasca's brown eyes narrowed in anger at the judgement.
"A true Amazon would not kill her mother. A true Amazon would never take the life of another member of her tribe. A true Amazon would admit to her crimes without prompt. And a true Amazon would never try to kill her Queen like a coward," she announced, mustering every amount of confidence she could as she spoke while ignoring the daggers that the woman beneath her was shooting at her. "Velasca is no sister of mine," she concluded before removing her staff from the woman's throat.
"As ruling Queen of this tribe, I hereby banish you from these territories and strip you of your title as an Amazon. If you ever set foot on this land again, you will be warned and escorted out. Do it again and you will be killed on sight."
She didn't wait around to hear the crowd's reaction. Instead, Gabrielle turned and limped back to the group of friends that she had traveled with. The world seemed to melt away as she looked into her best friend's comforting eyes. She didn't want to think about the days to come when she would have to take on the responsibilities as the queen of the Amazons. She just wanted to have all of her worries chased away by the ones who cared about her and to spend some much needed time with her daughter.
"You stupid, irritating blonde!" At first, the yell didn't register in her hazy mind but once it did, the bard turned around; just in time to see Velasca's dagger flying at her chest. Xena proved herself to be faster than the blade, however, by flipping in the air and landing in front of Gabrielle, catching the dagger with ease before it could hurt anyone.
"I think you may have a hearing problem," the warrior said in a low growl, tossing the dagger to the side. "She said leave. I suggest you do so or you'll find out just how different I am from Gabrielle," she threatened the woman.
"Why should I take orders from you or the brat? Neither of you are real Amazons!" Velasca barked at her before looking around her for support. Every woman she looked at backed away.
"In case you forgot, neither are you," Xena reminded her with a smirk when she saw the crowd‘s reaction. "Now go. I won't ask nicely again," she ordered her. Velasca's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned on her heels and began marching through the crowd to leave, shoving those that wouldn‘t move.
"Come on, Eva," she growled when she reached her friend, reaching out to grab hold of her. She was surprised when the girl pulled away. The surprise quickly turned into frustration. "I said come on."
"I know what you said, Velasca. I also know that... that I don't want to become what you are. You're not the friend that I found and admired when I was a child," the girl said, lowering her eyes to the ground as she spoke. "You've changed."
"Fine," Velasca growled, shoving the girl into the crowd. "Stay here with these so-called Amazons," she told her before addressing the other women. "You'll all be sorry when you follow that little girl to oblivion," she promised them before turning around once more and stomping out of the village, all the while plots of revenge turning in her head.
Once Velasca was out of sight, Xena turned back to face Gabrielle with a proud smile. She was surprised to see that the bard had paled considerably.
"Gabrielle?" she questioned, reaching out only to have the bard pull away from her. "Gabrielle, what's wrong?" she asked, reaching again and ending up with the same result.
"Don't touch me, Xena. Just... Just don't," the blonde finally said before turning and limping away from the warrior. She walked through the crowd of women, never noticing that every woman moved out of her way and bowed as she walked by. All she could see was her best friend standing in front of her, protecting her. Only, in the bard's mind Xena hadn't caught the dagger and she was on the ground dying. Soon, memories of Callisto's death made themselves known and as hard as she tried, she couldn't shake them.
By the time she reached the Queen's hut, Gabrielle had regained control of her memories and the grief that they had caused was replaced by anger. Anger at Xena for making her think about them and anger at herself for putting Xena in that position. She was just about to open the door to her hut when her friend's voice came from behind her.
"Gabrielle, what's wrong?" the warrior asked, hoping to get an answer this time. She wasn't used to the bard being so closed off from her. The last time she had acted this way was when they first brought her back to Amphipolis. "Please tell me."
Angry, green eyes glared into confused, blue ones when the bard finally turned around. Xena almost took a step back from the intense fury she saw in the emerald irises. Before she could say or do anything, small hands were pushing on her chest, making her move backwards.
"Why?! Why would you do that?!" Gabrielle yelled at her as she continued to shove her friend. "Why would you jump in front of a dagger for me? Why would you risk your life to save mine? Do you think my life is more important than yours or something?" she shouted at the warrior, unaware of the tears that were beginning to stream down her face. "Do you think I want to see you die because of me?"
The last question was said in a whisper and Xena was just barely able to hear it. Once the warrior had deciphered what she said though, the warrior didn't think twice before grabbing Gabrielle's hands- which had stopped shoving her halfway through her rant- and pulling her into a close embrace. Her hands began stroking the sweaty, blonde hair without her consent but she wasn't going to stop them.
"Is that what this is all about?" she asked. She felt a nod against her chest as her answer. "Oh Gabrielle..." She sighed before kissing the blonde head, not minding the salty taste the sweat left in her mouth. "I knew what I was doing. I was never in any danger," the warrior assured her friend.
"I don't care," the bard mumbled with a sniffle. "I don't ever w-want to see you killed, especially not b-because of me. I've lost too many p-people I care about that way," she told her taller friend before pulling away from Xena's chest. "I watched Callisto bleed to death after taking an arrow in the chest that was meant for me. Rosaline died because I asked her to take Nexa to your mother. I don't want to lose you, too."
Xena frowned when she heard the bard's words. She had hoped that Gabrielle had released the guilt she had been feeling over those deaths. She should have known better than that, though. She was an expert on guilt, after all. Deciding not to push the issue for the moment, the warrior simply gave the bard a reassuring squeeze before releasing her.
"I'm... sorry. I didn't realize... Well, I guess I wasn‘t thinking," she apologized. The warrior smiled when the bard nodded her forgiveness. "Now, why don't we go get you taken care of before everyone else shows up?" she suggested, receiving a nod in response. The warrior patted her friend on her good shoulder before leading the way into the Queen's hut, the bard close behind her.
Later that night, Gabrielle was sitting up in her bed with Nexa sitting next to her, careful not to touch any of her mother's carefully wrapped 'booboos', while Xena sat in a chair that she had brought in, sharpening her sword while half-listening to the story that her friend was telling. The warrior smiled when she heard the bard talk about the giant that she had tricked into releasing her while following Xena to Amphipolis. It was a story she had heard many times during their first year together. The happy scene was ruined when a shower of sparkles appeared at the foot of the bed in the middle of the story.
"Auntie 'Dite!" Nexa squealed as she slipped off the bed and ran towards her favorite goddess, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Xena and Gabrielle both rolled their eyes at the goddess's timing. "Momma was telling me a story. It was good."
"Oh really?" the blonde goddess asked, looking up at the blonde in the bed. She winced at the sight. "It doesn't look like your mommy should be doing anything except taking like a week off at a spa," she commented. Gabrielle had to admit that Aphrodite was right. Xena had given her a mirror earlier that evening and she looked as if she had been trampled by a stampede of wild horses.
"You should see the other guy," the bard said with a shrug, immediately regretting the action when her sore shoulder protested the movement. "On second thought, maybe you shouldn't. She doesn't look half as bad."
"Ooh... You still like, kicked her butt though, right?" the goddess asked, squealing when Gabrielle nodded in response. "What did I tell you, Sweet Pea? You had nothing to worry about. Okay, well I guess you did. That Velasca must have been one tough bi-"
"Yes, she was," the bard said, quickly cutting the excited blonde off before she said something she didn't want her daughter to hear. "But the point is, I'm the Queen of the Amazons now, which means I can hopefully lead them in the right direction."
"Rock on, Sweet Pea!" Aphrodite said with a giggle. "Let me tell you, you put yourself on the right path when you stood up to Velasca. Speaking of, I think this means I owe you an explanation." The goddess laughed when she watched the bard and warrior exchange confused glances. "Nexa's other half of the family tree, duh!" she reminded them with a giggle, amused at the looks she received from the two friends. Before either of them could speak, she held up a hand and looked down at Nexa. The little girl was asleep in moments and the goddess quickly popped her back to the bed next to her mother.
"Now, before you go all nutso on me and start asking the same questions you asked last night, let me explain one teeny, tiny, little thing,” she told them. Seeing that she had their attention, she went on. “There is a logical explanation for how I did what I did involving DNA and traits and other physiological mumbo-jumbo. Nothing you two would understand right now because your mortal minds haven‘t been introduced to the ideas yet,” she explained. “So, in the simplest way that I can put it, I took traits from Nexa’s true ‘father’ and gave them to Perdicas for that first night he and Sweet Pea here were together. Get it?”
“Um... I think so,” Gabrielle said, looking over at Xena, who shrugged. The bard rolled her eyes at the action before turning back to Aphrodite. “Well then, who did you get these... ‘traits’ from?”
“You mean you haven’t figured it out?” the Goddess of Love asked, her hands on her hips. The bard thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. “Really? Oh come on! It’s so obvious! I thought you mortals were like, born with common sense or something.”
“Will you just tell us already?” Xena asked, quickly losing her patience with the blonde goddess.
“Watch it, Warrior Babe,” Aphrodite warned the warrior before turning back to the bard. “Fine. I’ll tell you since you obviously aren’t any good at like, seeing the obvious,” she conceded. “I got the traits from the grouchy warrior sharpening her sword over there.”
The noise in the room seemed to stop as soon as the goddess finished speaking. Gabrielle and Xena both looked at each other before returning their gazes to the smiling Aphrodite. For a few moments, neither one could speak.
“W... What did you just say?” Xena asked when she finally found her voice. “You’re not saying that I’m...”
“Yup. That’s exactly what I’m saying. So how’s it feel to be a daddy, Warrior Babe?” Aphrodite smirked at the two of them, amused at the twin looks of disbelief they were giving her. She had to admit that mortals could be really fun sometimes.
“Well, as much as I’d love to hear your answer I have places to go, people to do, and like, this whole love business that needs to be taken care of in Gaul,” she told them. Before either of them could object, she disappeared; the only evidence that she had been there the dissipating shower of sparkles in the air.
“So um... I guess... Well, I wasn’t quite expecting that answer, to be honest,” Gabrielle finally said. Xena nodded in agreement as she sheathed her sword and put it away before walking over to the bed. She had wisely decided that she shouldn’t be around sharp objects for awhile.
Looking down at the sleeping Nexa, she felt her heartbeat speed up. Worried thoughts began to cloud her head as she stared down at the small child. She had never considered herself to be parent material; not with her past being what it was. Hence the reason she had given up Solan when he was just a baby.
‘How am I going to help raise a little girl?’ she thought as she reached down and stroked the blonde locks. The worry must have shown on her face because she soon felt a comforting presence make contact with her hand. She looked over to see the bard’s bandaged hand on top of her own. Her eyes trailed up the arm attached to the hand and rested on the gently smiling face looking back at her.
“I can think of no one else that I would rather have as Nexa’s ‘father’,” Gabrielle told her before leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek, despite the pain it caused her bruised lip. “Now go to sleep or you’ll be sorry when Ephiny wakes you up to help the rest of them get the village ready for the celebration festival.”
Without another word, the bard turned on her side and wrapped her arms around h- their daughter. She was asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes. Xena stood at the side of the bed for a few seconds longer before climbing in on the other side of Nexa and laying a protective arm across the both of them. She would leave her worries and insecurities for the morning, when she would have to go help Ephiny with the festival preparations.
The warrior groaned into her pillow. She had to go and ruin a happy moment by reminding herself of her promise to the Amazon. Xena mentally scolded herself for doing something so stupid before allowing herself to drift into Morpheus’s realm.