Back in his temple, the God of War was using The Portal to watch his second-favorite source of entertainment: Gabrielle. He had to admit that Strife and Discord had done a good job, and it had impressed him that they actually had the brains to think of something so brilliant.
"Gabrielle and Callisto in one cell. You two really outdid yourselves on this one." Ares praised them. The two minions practically swooned at the comment. It was a rare day indeed when the God of War complimented someone. "It's only been a week, and already she is being pushed to her limit by Callisto. I'll have to give that crazy blonde a token of my gratitude while she's still somewhat sane."
"I think he's a little late for that." Strife muttered under his breath to Discord, who smirked in reply. Strife had seen Callisto and the way she acted. There was no doubt in his mind that she was missing one or two important pieces in her mind. 'She talks to rats, for Zeus' sake!' he thought as a shudder ran down his spine. He did not like her at all.
"Hey! It looks like the guards are paying your plaything a visit, Ares." Discord said as she pointed at The Portal, pulling Discord out of his thoughts. "And would you look at that? They had the courtesy to bring her some new clothes."
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"Oh look, little bard. They brought you a new outfit." Callisto commented with a giggle when the guards threw in a bundle of clothing. "They must have known just how bad those peasant garments were beginning to reek. Maybe I should thank them later." the blonde thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah. Wouldn't want them to get egotistical, would we?" Gabrielle just ignored her as she went to examine the clothing that was thrown into the cell.
"This is armor." she pointed out when she held up the top. It was roughly her size and, while leaving her lower back exposed, it would cover her entire torso if she put it on. Etched into the leather was an image of a woman perched on a crescent moon. Gabrielle immediately recognized the symbol of the Amazons and wondered how a piece of their armor could manage to find its way into the prison.
"Aren't you the observant one? No wonder you're a bard." Callisto chuckled as she walked over to the shorter blonde. "Oh, aren't you just the luckiest little bard in the world? The Amazon that wore this armor was practically an animal in the ring until I killed her." she informed the young woman, causing Gabrielle to drop the top she was holding up.
"They don't really expect me to wear a dead person's clothes, do they?" she asked, staring down at the pile of assorted garments.
"Well you don't seriously think they'd let you fight in those rags, do you?" Callisto asked, referring to the dress that Gabrielle had been stuck in since she killed her husband. It had definitely seen better days, which was made evident by the many tears and blood and dirt stains.
"I'm not going to fight." she said defiantly, crossing her arms. "I may be stuck in this prison, but I am not going to fight just to entertain some rich snobs with a sick sense of pleasure." Callisto simply laughed at the smaller woman's defiant words.
"What makes you think you have a choice, little bard? The fools that run this place aren't going to let you simply waste away in here. I'm betting that someone paid a fortune for you to be taken here. They're going to want to earn that money back with whatever winnings you make in the fights." she explained. "If you don't fight, the guards will simply beat you until you decide you'd rather take your chances in the arena." she added on, quickly dashing any hopes of Gabrielle refusing to fight.
"How come you get your armor?" she finally asked, nodding towards the familiar black leather armor that Callisto was wearing.
"This is what I was wearing when I was brought here. Do you really think anyone was going to try and make me change?" she said with a shrug. After tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Callisto bent down and picked up the pile of discarded clothing. "Now then, you should probably try on your new outfit before the guards come back and tell you it's your turn to fight." she suggested as she shoved the armor into Gabrielle's arms before slinking back to her corner.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" the blonde asked as she watched Callisto's retreating figure.
"Oh, don't take it personally. I don't like you or anything." the villainess said. A few moments of silence went by before Callisto said, "I just can't wait to see how Xena's little bard kills someone. It must be something to watch." Gabrielle stared at the dark corner, wanting to respond, but unable to. She wanted to say that she wasn't a killer, but the fact that she was even in the prison disproved that point. So, she simply chose not to respond to the comment, and instead began looking through the new clothes.
They were definitely different from what she was used to wearing when she traveled with Xena. Apart from being made of leather, she had never worn anything that was made to be so decorative. The back of the top was lined with red and blue feathers; and the leather strap that tied around her waist had the teeth of carnivorous animals hanging from it. There was another strap that tied to the leather that went around her waist and went across her back and over her torso, tying in the front. The bottom half of the armor consisted of pleats and a skirt.
The dark, leather pleats had a rather complex design, making it obvious that whoever made it had put a lot of time into them. The pleats were in the shape of feathers, each one different from the other. The skirt that she would wear underneath was made of soft, black fur that Gabrielle guessed came from a wolf. To complete the ensemble was one shoulder guard, two bracers, and a pair of sandals that laced all the way up to her knees.
"Could you um..." Gabrielle wasn't quite sure how to say what she wanted Callisto to do, feeling rather foolish about what her request would come out as. The truth was, she didn't want the crazy woman to see her change. She may have been in a prison, but she found it hard to get rid of the modesty that she had been cursed with. It became apparent that she wouldn't have to worry about Callisto sneaking peeks at her when she saw the insane blonde talking to her rat again. Just to be sure, however, she changed as fast as she could.
"Hm... It seems there was a reason Xena kept you around after all." Callisto chuckled as she stood up from her corner and walked over to Gabrielle once the girl was changed. "I don't know why you had such a problem with wearing these..." she said as she came up behind the bard. Gabrielle shuddered when she felt Callisto place her thin hands on her shoulders. "You look much better than the killer that wore these last." the blonde purred into the smaller woman's ear. Gabrielle's eyes narrowed at the last comment, and the small bard pulled herself out of Callisto's grasp.
"Let me get this through to you, Callisto." she started as she turned around. "I. Am. Not. A. Killer." she told the woman, getting up as close to her face as she could without touching her. Although she knew Callisto wouldn't kill her, she had learned her lesson the last time she had touched the woman. She didn't fancy the idea of being thrown into a wall again. Although, she had expected some sort of retaliation from the woman, besides the crazy laughter she received.
"Then what do you call yourself, little bard?" Callisto asked when she finally stopped laughing. "Hm? It seems that you and I must have a different definition of the word 'killer'. You see, to me, a killer is someone who ends another person's life." she said. When she didn't receive an answer from the young woman, she smirked and leaned forward. "What's the matter, little bard? Did having your definition proven wrong make you speechless? Or are you just busy trying to take in the fact that you've become like me?" she taunted the smaller blonde.
"Shut up, Callisto!" Gabrielle yelled before tackling the other woman to the ground. "I am nothing like you!" she said as she aimed a punch at Callisto's face. The willowy blonde stopped it, however, and used it to flip Gabrielle over so that the bard was on the bottom and she was on top, pinning the other woman's arms to the hard ground.
"Ooh. So Xena's little kitty has claws after all. I knew there was a reason she kept you around." she said before Gabrielle spit in her face. "She does tricks, too! This is just turning out to be my lucky day!" she exclaimed excitedly before leaning forward and giving Gabrielle a rough kiss on the mouth, engaging the plan that had been developing in her head over the last week.
It would be nice to brag to Xena, if she ever saw the woman again, that she was able to obtain what the dark-haired woman wanted: Gabrielle's heart. Of course, it wouldn't be in the way that she originally intended, with a knife or sword, but either way worked for her. When she saw how broken Xena was after Gabrielle had married Perdicus, she began to wonder how the woman would feel if she lost her heart to the woman she hated most.
Gabrielle, unaware of the plans running through Callisto's head, was thoroughly surprised by the rough kiss that caught her off guard; but it only took her a moment to get over it and head-butt Callisto. Once the insane woman's hands were off of her arms, she shoved Callisto off of her and rolled to the side, before jumping back to her feet. The former bard immediately began spitting, trying to get the taste of Callisto's tongue out her mouth, while rubbing her hand across her mouth vigorously, trying to get the feel of her lips on her to go away.
"What the Hades was that?" she breathed out once she was done. She was careful to remain in a defensive stance, just in case Callisto tried that again.
"A girl has to have some fun, doesn't she?" the willowy blonde replied with a shrug, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Besides," she continued with a smirk, "you started it."
"You really have gone insane, if you think that was me starting it." Gabrielle told her before relaxing out of her fighting stance and heading back to the bars of the cell.
"I thought it was great foreplay." Callisto told her, blowing the same stray strand of hair out of her eyes just to have it fall back in front of her face. It seemed it was having as much fun bothering her as she was having tormenting Gabrielle, who just ignored the comment she made. Instead, she began to allow her thoughts to wander as she stared up at the blue sky. She hated it.
Before Perdicus, when she was happily traveling with Xena, a clear sky was something she could gaze at forever while coming up with a new way to tell a story. It always reminded her of her best friend's eyes, something else she could have stared into forever if it wouldn't make her friend suspicious. Even when she was with Perdicus, even if she never got that same feeling she used to get with Xena, a blue sky never bothered her. At that moment, however, she wanted to bring the sky crashing down to the ground.
After almost four years of enduring beatings from a man she should have never been with, Gabrielle had lost the one thing she had gone through them for; she had lost her tiny, blonde world. At least when she had Nexa with her, Gabrielle could forget about Perdicus for a little while and enjoy the blue sky that reminded her, not only of Xena, but of her daughter as well.
'The Fates are cruel to create a Tartarus like this one above Hades' realm.' she thought as she pressed her forehead into the bars of her cell. 'If I don't look up, I'll lose whatever connection it is that I have with the ones I love.' she mused silently, 'But if I do look up, I remember that I lost them.' Gabrielle sighed as she sank to the ground, defeated. It took her a moment to register the feel of wet tracks running down her face. She hadn't realized that she had been crying.
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Xena woke to sound of small sniffles coming from someone laying beside her and the feel of something warm and wet on her shoulder. When she looked down to see who had snuck into her bed, she found herself staring into watery blue eyes framed by dark blonde hair.
"I'm sowwy, Xena. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” the small blonde apologized as she wiped her eyes. The warrior princess smiled softly, something that only Gabrielle had ever seen, before placing a gentle hand on the girl’s head.
“It’s alright. Now will you tell me what’s wrong?” she asked as she stroked the soft hair beneath her hand, trying to comfort the little girl. Nexa seemed to think about it for a moment before shrugging.
“I don’t know. My Mama is sad, and I don’t know why. It makes me sad, because I can‘t make her happy.” she explained before sniffling again. Xena mentally sighed and sat up, pulling the girl up with her. Comforting people was definitely not her strong suit.
“Nexa, you were probably just dreaming. I’m sure your Mama is happy.” she said before thinking about something for a moment. “If she is sad, though, it’s probably because she misses you.”
“But I don’t want Mama to be sad because of me.” Nexa sniffled before rubbing her nose on her arm. Xena made a face, mentally deciding that she would have to teach the kid better ways to get rid of a runny nose, before going back to trying to comfort the child.
“I think I know a way to make her feel better.” Xena suggested. Nexa looked up at her with hopeful blue eyes, practically pleading her to tell. “Try thinking of her right now. Tell her how much you love her.” The small blonde did as Xena said, thinking as hard as she could of her mother. “You know, you and your mother aren’t really separated. She’s in here with you.” Xena tapped the girl’s chest while Nexa’s eyes were closed. “And all you have to do to be with her is close your eyes and think of her.” she continued before laying back down. “You should go back to bed, Nexa.”
“Can I stay with you tonight?” the girl asked as she laid down and rested her head on Xena’s shoulder once more. It reminded her of when her Mama used to take her to the lake while her Daddy was gone. She heard Xena sigh before mumbling a ’yes’. The girl smiled to herself before snuggling closer to her Mama’s friend and slipping back to sleep.
While the small girl slept, Xena found herself wide awake and her thoughts were beginning to pester her. She was supposed to be the stoic and mean warrior princess, and she had just shown a little girl a gentle side that she thought she had lost. It made her question what kind of influence Nexa had over her. She must have had some affect on her if she had made the Warrior Princess stay in one spot for longer than two days. They had been in Amphipolis for a week, and Xena wasn’t even feeling restless like she thought she would.
‘Am I getting soft?’ she wondered as she absent-mindedly began stroking the blonde hair beneath her when she felt Nexa begin stirring again. ‘No. The Warrior Princess doesn’t get soft. Maybe I’m just... going through a phase.’ she thought, trying to convince herself that she was still as tough as she used to be. It was then that she realized what she was doing with her hand. ‘Traitor.’ she thought as she stopped her hand from moving and let it fall limply beside Nexa. She decided, however, to stop thinking about for the night. ‘As long as nobody else sees me being nice, my reputation will be fine.’ This thought convinced her that everything would be alright, and it wasn’t long before she was being pulled back into Morpheus’ realm.
The next morning, Xena woke up to find Nexa still nestled beside her, practically burrowing into her side. It almost made her feel bad that she would have to wake the little girl up by moving; almost, but not quite. She smirked when she got out of the bed and Nexa gave a little shriek at the loss of her body heat.
“Come on, kid. I’m sure Mother has food on the table for you by now, and is wondering where you are.” she told the girl, who responded with a yawn and a sleepy nod before clumsily climbing out of bed and following after Xena. When she realized that the girl may have some trouble making it down the stairs without falling down them, Xena placed a steadying hand on her shoulder and made sure that she was able to make it down the steps without incident.
“There you two are. I was beginning to worry that I’d have to give your breakfast away.” Cyrene said when she saw her daughter and her small charge come down the stairs. “Go on and eat. Solan and Amarice are already at the table.” she ordered them. She grabbed Xena’s arm as she walked past, though, and pulled her down to her level. “If they continue on like they are, you’re paying for the damages to my tavern and cleaning up their mess.” she whispered before releasing her daughter and heading back to the kitchen, leaving Xena to deal with the children. Deciding that she would rather not spend her dinars on anything Amarice and Solan broke, Xena entered the dining area of the tavern.
“Take it back! Take it back!” Amarice yelled as she held Solan in a headlock. “If you don’t take it back, I swear I’ll pull all of that blonde hair out piece by piece and make it into a pillow!” she threatened as Solan tried to struggle against her.
“What is going on here?” Xena asked when she walked into the room and observed the damage that had been caused. Chairs were flipped over and one of the tables was broken. Broken pieces of a plate littered the floor, along with the remains of someone’s breakfast. Meanwhile, Tara, the new waitress they had hired, was jumping up and down from the sidelines and cheering the two teenagers on. The sound of her voice quickly put an end to the girl’s cheering, though, along with the wrestling that Solan and Amarice were doing.
“He started it!” Amarice said after she let go of him, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde boy.
“Hey! I did not!” Solan objected. “You’re the one that called me immature, so you started it.” he reminded her before sticking his tongue out.
“Oh yeah, that’s really mature.” she said sarcastically. “Just liking throwing those eggs at me was the definition of maturity.”
“Well both of you are acting like children right now.” Xena informed them. “In fact, the only one that’s acting like an adult right now is Nexa, and she’s three years old!” she said, nodding at the young girl. Nexa looked up from her plate of food when she heard her name to find everyone staring at her. She did her best impression of Xena’s ‘look’ before going back to eating. When Xena looked back at Solan and Amarice, they both looked slightly ashamed before going back to the table.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked when she saw them sit down. They both looked up at her with confused expressions on their faces. “While I’m here, I keep trouble out of mother’s tavern. You two sure look like trouble to me.” she explained. “So get out and don’t come back until tomorrow.”
“But Xena!” they both objected simultaneously as they stood up from their seats.
“Out. Now.” she ordered them. “Or do I have to haul you out like common thugs?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Amarice and Solan both shook their heads before making their way out the door. It seemed that they would be on their own for lunch and dinner.
“Do you see what you did?” Amarice hissed at the boy as they walked together through Amphipolis.
“Me? Like I said, you started it.” Solan retorted as he walked with Amarice. The Amazon sighed and shook her head.
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. Xena finished it.” she said before pulling Solan out of the way of a man and his cart. “Learn to drive a damn cart!” she called after the man, shaking her fist at him. “Men. Can’t do anything right.” she muttered.
“Excuse me, but I’m right here.” Solan said, although he was grateful to Amarice for pulling him out of the way.
“I know. That’s why I said it.” she told him smugly before walking off. Solan watched her go, muttering to himself plans of revenge. He was about to go find the ingredients he would need for his plan when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Xena raising an eyebrow at him.
“What did I just hear about you putting snakes in Amarice’s bed?” she asked curiously. He smiled sheepishly at her and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Oh nothing.” he assured his older friend before an idea popped into his head. “Hey Xena, do you think we could go hunting together?” he asked, a bright smile on his face.
“And why would I want to do that?”
“Well... I am staying at your mother’s house, after all, and I do want to be able to help.” he told her. “And I kind of don’t know how to hunt very well.” he admitted in a rush before looking down at the ground. When she didn’t answer, Solan looked up to find an amused smile on her face. “What? Kaleipus didn’t have enough patience to teach me how to hunt!” he explained.
“Come on, you little urchin. I’ll teach you to hunt, but only if you promise to be nicer to Amarice.” Xena told him. When he looked like he was about to object, she put a finger to his lips. “Ah ah ah. It’s either that, or no deal at all.”
“Fine.” he said, crossing his arms. “Can we get started now? I want to learn before you leave.” Xena thought about it before shrugging.
“I guess it couldn’t hurt any.” she decided before leading him out of Amphipolis and toward the surrounding woods. When they returned a few hours later, looking like they had seen better days, Xena realized what a mistake opting to take him hunting had been.
It turned out that Solan had a problem with killing wild animals. When she brought up the fact that he ate animals all the time, he told her told her that he still hadn’t been the one to kill them. She couldn’t argue that. Plus, he also had worse luck than Gabrielle did. She never knew that bees could be such bothersome little pests. When Solan accidentally hit a hive with his staff, however, Xena learned that the stinging insects could hold a grudge.
“Xena, what happened to you two?” Cyrene asked when they entered the tavern. They were both covered in dirt and looked a little damp. Solan had a few bee stings covering different parts of his body and Xena had a scrape going up her arm.
“Hunting, mother... hunting.” she answered. “Come on, Solan. You need to get a hot bath.”
“But, you said that Amarice and I couldn’t come back until tomorrow.” he reminded her.
“Forget I said anything. You stink and I don’t want you running off my mother’s customers.” she told him before pushing him in the direction of the staircase. She then turned to her mother, who gave her a knowing look and sent Tara off to draw a bath for Solan. The girl muttered something under her breath before doing as she was told.
“Xena, I don’t know about that girl sometimes.” Cyrene said while shaking her head. “I know she told you that she wanted to start making up for her crimes, but did you really have to insist that she become my new helper?”
“She grew up without a mother. I thought sending her to the best mother I know would help her.” Xena told her.
“Oh Xena. Now you’re just trying to flatter me so that I don’t yell at you. Well, it’s working.” Cyrene told her before going in to kiss her daughter on the cheek. She stopped halfway there, thinking better of it. “Xena, Solan’s not the only one who needs a bath. Nexa and I will go find Amarice and tell her that she can come back while you go wash up.” she said before going off to find her young helper. “Oh, and do hurry. Wouldn’t want to scare away my customers.” Xena rolled her eyes before going up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. She had to admit, though; she did need a bath.
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“Amazon!” Gabrielle looked up from the ground when she heard one of the guards address her. “Get up. The crowd‘s waiting.” he told her.
“Look, you don’t understand. I can’t go out there. I’m not a fighter.” Gabrielle told him, although she did stand up. Callisto’s words were echoing through her mind, reminding her that if she didn’t fight, the guards would find a much more painful way for her to die.
“Yeah right. And I’m the son of Zeus.” he scoffed as he unlocked the cell and opened the door. He was careful not to keep his eyes off of the insane woman in the corner, knowing that she’d take any chance to kill him.
“Actually, he’s a little taller and has darker hair.” Gabrielle informed him, earning a glare from the guard. “He also travels with a blonde man, unlike you. See, your partner has black hair, and it isn’t as long.”
“Look. Either you come out on your own, or we’ll come in there and get you.” the guard growled, although he didn’t fancy the idea of entering a cell with Callisto in it.
“Oh, I invite you to try. I’ve been a little bored since my last fight.” the other occupant of the cell said with a quiet chuckle. “Here piggy, piggy, piggy!” she taunted him, gesturing for the guard to come into the cell.
“Fine! I’ll go with you!” Gabrielle said as she hurried out of her prison. “Happy?” she asked as the guard closed the cell once more.
“Very. Now move it.” The former bard did as she was told, walking down the rocky incline that led down to the floor of the canyon. The sound of the men in the prison cells made her uneasy, and slightly glad that she had been put in the same cell as Callisto. At least she would be able to push the willowy blonde off of her if she tried something, like she had earlier. Just thinking of that made her want to wash her mouth out.
“Choose a weapon.” one of the guards said when they finished their descent. Gabrielle looked up to find a weapon rack lined with any weapons she could think of, plus a few that she had never seen before. Too bad she had no idea how to use any of them. Fortunately, she saw a staff at the very end of the rack, right next to a large sword and a battle axe. Her eyes lit up with hope. If she had a staff, perhaps she could survive this place without killing anyone.
“Ha! This should be interesting. Alright, little one. Go out and show your stuff.” the head of the guards said, grabbing her by the leather strap that held her armor in place and practically throwing her into the fighting area. A few laughs could be heard as she caught herself with her staff rather ungracefully, along with a few catcalls. Then the laughter turned to cheers when her opponent entered the narrow fighting arena, causing Gabrielle to gulp.
The man wasn’t big, maybe a little taller than she was with a slight build, so his size wasn’t a problem. The problem was that she hadn’t fought in almost four years, and now she was being thrown into a life of fighting against her will. Her opponent seemed to be a favorite of the crowd, telling her that he had been there a long time. The problem was that he was using a pair of weapons that she had never seen before. The looked like knives, but the hand-guards curved out, forming a trident. Even the reassuring weight of the staff couldn’t bring back the small glimmer of hope that she had had just a few moments ago. The man didn’t give her much time to think about how doomed she was, though, because almost as soon as he entered, he was launching himself at her.
Gabrielle brought the staff up just in time to block the first blow from the strange weapons. Unfortunately, the shoulder that Perdicus had shoved a knife in before she killed him began to protest the us, causing her to lose her focus for a moment. The man used the distraction to kick her to the ground. Just as he was about to jump on her, she rolled out of the way and aimed a swipe with her staff at his kneecaps.
The man flipped backwards over the staff and threw one of the knives that he held, aiming for the middle of her back. Gabrielle quickly turned and caught the weapon in her staff just in time to stop it from entering her chest. She mentally thanked Xena for teaching her how to listen for attacks with her body before pulling the strange knife out of her staff. She was about to throw the knife away so the man couldn’t get it when she realized he was attacking with the other one. She sidestepped to get out of the path of the blade, but not in time to avoid the entire attack.
She felt the same pain in her side that she did in her shoulder when Perdicas stabbed her, but her opponent didn’t give her time to dwell on it. Before Gabrielle knew it, the man was kicking her in the chest, knocking the strange knife out of her hand as she fell to the ground. As she tried to regain her breath and her staff, the man jumped on top of her. When he lifted the knife up to give the final blow, however, Perdicas’ face flashed in front of Gabrielle’s eyes.
She was taken back to her marriage with the bastard that had caused her so much pain in the first place. She was back to being the scared wife who was too afraid to leave her house, because if she did, Perdicas might become angrier at her. Gabrielle didn’t want to go back to that. She didn’t want to be Perdicus’ punching bag anymore. She wouldn’t let him take her back to being that, either.
“I won’t let you!” Gabrielle screamed before grabbing the knife that lay beside her and shoving it into the side of the man that was pinning her down. His own knife had been inches away from her chest. She watched as the man’s eyes widened, although she was still seeing Perdicas on top of her, as she dug the knife deeper into his side until the hand-guards wouldn‘t let the blade go any further. It wasn’t until the dead body of the man collapsed on top of her that Gabrielle realized what she had done.
Her eyes widened as she stared up into the blank ones of the dead man on top of her. As hard as she tried to look away, the surprised look on the man’s face entranced her. Gabrielle laid there underneath the body of the man she had just killed, her mind trying to comprehend what she had done.
“Get up, scum!” one the guards ordered her. When she didn’t move, the man pulled the dead body off of her and roughly pulled her to her feet. “I said get up!” he growled before pushing her forward, toward the rocky path that led back up to her cell. Gabrielle began to walk, although she wasn’t aware of it. All she could think about was the look in her opponent’s eyes as she killed him, and it was making her sick to her stomach. She didn’t even notice when the guard led her to a healer and he began stitching up the wound in her side before she lost too much blood.
All Gabrielle noticed was the coppery smell of blood coming from her hands, and the feel of it running down her arms. It was sickening; literally. Halfway up the rocky path, she threw up the meager amount of food that she had eaten that day which earned her a smack in the back of the head from the guard when he stepped in it. Still, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t go away, even when they reached her cell and threw her back in.
“I have to say, little bard, that was quite the surprise.” Callisto said once the guards closed the cell and left them alone. “I could see the angriest little fire in your eyes, even from this high up.” she chuckled. Gabrielle ignored her, choosing instead to lean her head against the bars. She had hoped that the cool metal would make her head stop throbbing and the sick feeling in her gut to leave. As soon as she closed her eyes to relax into the cool feeling pressing against her head, though, the image of the man she had just killed reappeared and she remembered herself shoving the knife into his side.
Gabrielle immediately opened her eyes before throwing up again. Now she was going to need a bath...