"Nexa, can you tell me anything else about what you see?" Xena asked, crouched low so that she was eye level with the child of her lost best friend. Ever since she had finally convinced herself that Nexa's strange visions and dreams were connected to Gabrielle, she made sure to pay attention to whatever the little girl could tell her. It wasn't much, though. All she had been able to figure out from the small blonde was that Gabrielle was in a prison with Callisto, and had been forced to fight. It didn't help that Xena knew there were over a dozen prisons with illegal fighting rings scattered all across Greece.
"Lots of people?" Nexa said in more of a question, deciding that the ground had become quite interesting after she answered. She wanted to help Xena find her mama so much, but she never knew how to explain what she saw and felt. She looked up at the warrior princess when she heard her sigh. "I'm sowwy," she apologized as she shifted her gaze back to the ground.
"Hey, it's alright, Little One." Xena gently placed two fingers under Nexa's chin and lifted her gaze upwards. "You've already done more than enough. At least now I know where to start looking, eh?" She smiled softly in reassurance before placing a kiss on Nexa's forehead and standing back up. "I guess I'm off to go track down your mother."
"I come, too?" Nexa asked, looking up at Xena with pleading eyes. The warrior princess chuckled as she shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. Someone has to stay here and look after Solan and Mother, don't you think?" she asked. She knew that she would have to argue less with the little girl if she made her feel like she was doing something important if she stayed at the tavern.
"I can do that!" Nexa beamed proudly up at Xena, her disappointment at not being able to help Xena forgotten.
"Of course you can. Why do you think I chose you for the job?" Xena told her.
"Because I'm so cute." Xena laughed out loud at this before ruffling Nexa's hair, something she used to do to her mother years ago.
"That you are, Little One. Now then, I believe my mother is waiting for us downstairs and the Gods know I want to get her goodbye over with." Nexa giggled and happily followed after the warrior princess as she left their room and headed down the stairs.
"There you two are. We were beginning to worry that you weren't going to come down," Cyrene told them as they reached the bottom of the staircase. Xena mock glared at her mother, but didn't say anything.
"Ready to go, Xena?" Amarice asked with a raised eyebrow, proving that she had spent too much time around the warrior princess.
"Hold on." Xena walked over to the blonde boy near the counter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've probably had enough of me leaving you places, huh Solan?" she asked jokingly, although she was truly afraid that her son would be angry at her for leaving so often.
"Nah. Without you around, I get to be the boss of the house," Solan told her smugly. Xena rolled her eyes before reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Mom!" he protested loudly, although he didn't pull away. He didn't know how long it would be until his mother came back, so if she wanted to mess up his hair, she could.
"I wouldn't let your grandmother hear you say that," she warned the boy in a quiet voice, her eyes glancing over to the innkeeper before she returned her attention back to Solan. "I am sorry that I have to keep leaving like this," she told the boy. "I promise that after I find Gabrielle, we'll be able to spend more time together."
"You don't have to do that, Xena."
"I know I don't have to. I want to," she assured him, cutting off the rest of his objection. "Now you be good and help your grandmother while I'm gone," she told him.
"I heard that Xena. I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of getting things done by myself," Cyrene told her daughter before looking at her grandson with soft eyes. "But you feel free to help out if you want to." Xena mentally shook her head at her mother before motioning for Nexa to come over.
"Now remember what I told you earlier. I'm counting on you," she told the girl. Nexa smiled and saluted obediently before wrapping her arms around Xena's leg.
"I can do it," she assured the warrior princess. She was, after all, her mother's little warrior. If she couldn't look after Solan and Cyrene, then who could? After letting go of Xena's leg, she walked over to Amarice, who took a step back.
"Oh no you don't. I know exactly how you plan to say goodbye to me," she told the little girl, raising her hands up in surrender. "So how about we skip the part where you kick me, and I just pick you up?" she suggested. Nexa squealed in delight as Amarice lifted her up and gave her a hug. As much as the little brat bugged her, the young warrior had missed Nexa while she was gone. After placing Nexa back on the ground, much to the young child's disappointment, Amarice turned her attention to Solan. She knew that he was going to be the hardest goodbye for her.
Even though she had found Armon, the only reason that she had considered staying with the young man was because he reminded her of Solan. Not physically, of course; but their attitudes were very similar. She knew it was a selfish thing for her to do, and that it was unfair to Armon, but she couldn't help herself. If Armon was the closest thing to Solan that she could get, then she was going to stay with him.
"Well..." she started off awkwardly, "it was nice seeing you again, Solan. We should talk more next time." After getting through that sentence, Amarice decided that the ground looked interesting and began giving it a thorough visual examination.
"Yeah, it was... interesting," Solan told her. 'More like awkward,' he mentally admitted. "You take care of Xena, alright?"
"You bet, Kid," she said with a small smile before grabbing Armon by the arm and dragging him outside, where Hercules and Iolaus were waiting for them. Xena watched them go before turning back to her family, whether they were by blood or adopted.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," she promised.
"That's if you ever leave. Go on, Xena. We know how anxious you are to find Gabrielle. So go out there and get her!" Cyrene told her motioning towards the door with her hands. "Go on. Shoo!"
"Alright, alright! I'm leaving," Xena said as she walked out the door, joining the small group that would be joining her on her journey. Although she wouldn't say it out loud, she was grateful for their help.
"What do you say we get this show on the road?" Iolaus asked before her began walking, excited to be traveling again. Like the others, he also couldn't wait to find Gabrielle. The one and only time that he had been able to see the young woman was when Xena and Hercules freed Prometheus. He hadn't been quite ready for a relationship with her then, but he had to admit that he often found himself thinking of the story she had told him while they were waiting for Hercules and Xena, hoping that he wouldn't bleed to death from the wound he had received.
"Let me tell you another story," Gabrielle insisted quietly as she gently smoothed Iolaus' hair. Iolaus couldn't help but laugh softly at her perseverance. Even though he had just met her, he knew she'd keep talking forever, as long as it kept him from closing his eyes and crossing over. "Once, a long, long time ago, all people had four legs and two head. And then the Gods threw down thunderbolts and split everyone into two," she started. And Iolaus listened to her, her calm and gentle voice taking his attention away from the pain in his side. "Each half then had two legs and one head."
"But the separation left both sides with a desperate yearning to be reunited; because they each shared the same soul. And ever since then, all people spend their lives searching for the other half of their soul."
When Gabrielle had asked him about it later, he had told her that he didn't remember her ever telling him that story, when truthfully, he didn't want to hurt her. He wasn't mature enough for someone as devoted to love as Gabrielle. Now that he knew he was ready to try a relationship with someone like her, he had a good idea that Xena was going to beat him to the punch. The thought made him smile to himself.
He was glad that his darker friend had been able to find someone that made her happy and stick to the path she was walking. He had felt bad for Xena when she had told them that Gabrielle had decided to marry someone from her hometown. Although she had tried to hide her sadness, both Iolaus and Hercules could feel it radiating off of her that day. It was nothing compared to the anger they could see and feel coming from her when she told them about Perdicas, but it had told them early on that Xena loved Gabrielle, even if she hadn't known it.
'I guess it's true that love is blind,' he thought, chuckling to himself. 'Or vain, if you're basing it off of Aphrodite.' As his thoughts began to fill with images of the beautiful Goddess, time seemed to fly by for the blonde warrior.
As Iolaus thought of a certain blonde Goddess, a darker God with a much darker purpose howled with rage.
"I can't believe this!" Ares shouted angrily, throwing a lightning bolt at one of the pillars in his temple. "Not only am I going to lose my source of entertainment, but I'm going to lose Xena, as well!"
"Face it, bro. Xena was never yours. Not even when she was a warlord that had never heard of a thing called a brush." The annoying sound of his sister's voice immediately made the God of War turn his head. "As much as you like to believe you did, there was no way that Warrior Babe would let anyone control her."
"What are you doing here? Haven't you meddled in my plans enough already?" Ares asked her. Aphrodite feigned shock, placing a hand over her chest.
"Me? Interfere in your plans? As if," she told him. "I mean, you are the God of War, after all; and I'm just the Goddess of Love. No real power what-so-ever, am I right?" she asked. Ares narrowed his eyes at her and let out a low growl.
"Don't try to act innocent with me, Aphrodite," he warned her. "I know you interfered with Xena and Gabrielle."
"Come off it, bro. The only mortal that I bothered interfering with was that adorable, little Nexxie. And according to Pops, that's perfectly alright," she told him.
"Are you telling me that the irritating blonde's brat is your Chosen?" he asked in an irritated voice. Aphrodite smiled brightly at him, giving him his answer. "Argh!" Ares angrily threw a lightning bolt at his sister, hitting only air as she disappeared in a shower of sparks. "And my family wonders why I hate them..." he muttered to himself as he walked over to his throne. He had to admit, though, that his sister had actually done something smart for once.
Because she was Aphrodite's Chosen, Nexa had the Goddess of Love watching over her most of the time. That explained why Perdicas had never tried to hurt the child, even when he was angry. Aphrodite had always been there warding him off. And now that Ares knew that Nexa was his sister's Chosen, he also knew that he wouldn't be allowed to interfere in her life like he had planned to. "First my plans for Xena fail. Now I might as well cross off my plans for Nexa, as well. What's next? Callisto gets a heart?" he muttered angrily to himself.
A month later, a depressed bard from Potidaea leaned against the bars of her cell, unaware that Xena had started searching for her. Even if she had known, it wouldn't have done much to elevate her mood. It was her daughter's birthday, and she wasn't even able to be there with her.
"Oh little baaaard... what's the matter? As much as I enjoy seeing you suffer, you’re no fun when you’re depressed,” Callisto told her from across the cell.
“Callisto, I’m not in the mood. Go away,” she told the other blonde as she stared up at the grey sky. It seemed to match her mood perfectly.
“That’s what you always say,” the older woman said, a slight pout on her face. When Gabrielle didn’t respond, Callisto mentally sighed. Ever since the bard had told her that she was the one responsible for her actions, not Xena, she had been thinking about her past. Gabrielle hadn’t helped by telling her that she was misguided, not evil. At least when she was evil, she could blame it on Xena. So, in order to keep herself from thinking about the past, she would listen to Gabrielle tell stories, and apparently that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.
“Well you had better get in the mood before we have to fight, or you’re going to get yourself killed,” she muttered angrily as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the rock wall.
“I guess that would make your mission in life easier then, wouldn’t it?” Gabrielle said, not bothering to turn around and look at the other woman.
“Oh no, no, no, little bard. You already know my mission in life, and you getting yourself killed is not a part of it. I have to be the one to kill you, remember?” Callisto reminded her boredly. “There’s really no fun in letting Xena know that you died because of someone that she doesn’t know as well as she knows me. It would simply ruin our relationship if she ever found out that I let some common, no-name murderer kill you.”
“Callisto, you and Xena don’t have a relationship anymore,” Gabrielle pointed out with a sigh, ignoring the footsteps that she heard coming from behind her.
“I guess that makes two of us then,” she said as she lowered herself to Gabrielle’s level and placed her hands on tense shoulders, ignoring the familiar shudder that she felt run through the smaller woman‘s body. “Frankly, I like our relationship much more anyways,” she whispered into the bard’s ear. Gabrielle could almost feel the smirk on Callisto’s lips before she pushed the woman away from her.
“We don’t have that kind of relationship either, so stop pretending we do,” she told the woman, not missing the somewhat hurt look that passed across the insane woman’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that,” Gabrielle apologized, getting up from her spot on the ground. “We do have a relationship, and I... don’t entirely dislike it... but Callisto, I’m not going to let you pull me into that kind of relationship just so you can hurt Xena.” She placed her hand on Callisto’s, not surprised when the woman pulled away and walked back to her spot in the darkness of the cell without another word. Gabrielle sighed and shook her head, wishing their arguments wouldn’t always end that way.
Nexa sighed as she stared out the window of the tavern. The sky was grey, and it looked like it was going to rain. It wasn’t exactly her idea of a good day for a birthday. Then again, no one knew it was her birthday except her mama, and she could feel the sadness that her mother was radiating at not being able to be with her. Even when her daddy had been around, she knew her mama used to always make her birthday special.
“Why the glum face, little girl? A child as pretty as you shouldn’t look so down.” At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Nexa turned around, coming face to face with a slender teenager she had never seen before. He was dressed in long, white robes that reminded her of Rosaline. When he rose to his full height, she realized that he was as tall as Xena, and had the same hair color as well, even though it was cut shorter. His eyes, however, were a deep shade of green with specks of dark blue.
“Who are you?” Nexa asked curiously, staring up at him with wide eyes. It never crossed her mind to scream for Solan or Cyrene. Even though she had never met this man, the strange sparkle in his eyes told her that he was a friend.
“I’m Jade. And you must be little Nexa,” he introduced himself in the same gentle voice that he had used when he first greeted her.
“Yeah. I’m Nexa. How did you know?”
“Aphrodite sent me to keep an eye on you,” he told her with a smile. Nexa immediately squealed with glee at the mention of the blonde Goddess.
“Auntie ’Dite! Is she here?!” she asked hopefully, thinking that perhaps her birthday could be shared with someone after all. Jade shook his head.
“Unfortunately, Aphrodite has been caught up with a mess that some bumbling fool made when she tried to win a bet against her son,” he told her. “It was Jonas... no, that wasn’t his name... Jared? No, that’s not it either... Ah! It was Joxer!”
“Aw... so I don’t get to spend my biwthday with anybody?” she asked, letting out a disappointed sigh.
“Now I never said that, did I? Aphrodite not only sent me to look out for you, she also sent me to stay with you on this very, very special day,” he told her as he knelt back down so that he was eye level with her. “She also wanted me to give you... this!” When Jade pulled his hand out of his robes, he realized that he had accidentally pulled out one of his scrolls. “Oh wait. Not that,” he said as he put it back into his robe. Moments later, he pulled out a small pink box that had a red ribbon tied around it. “This!” he exclaimed triumphantly before handing it to the little girl. Nexa wasted no time in opening, although she had carefully removed the ribbon before tearing the box open. She squealed in delight when she saw what was inside.
It was a chain necklace made of gold, and dangling from the bright chain was a pendant in the shape of a heart. Inside the heart was a picture of her standing next to Solan between her mama and Xena. On the back of the pendant stood Cyrene, Amarice, and Aphrodite.
“That is the finest gold found in Greece and Rome, you know,” Jade told her. “And Aphrodite even had her hunky hubby, Hephaestus, engrave it,” he said before taking it from the small girl and putting it around her neck and clasping it for her. “Absolutely stunning, my dear,” he complimented her with a smile.
“Yay! Now my mama is with me! Xena, too!” Nexa said excitedly. Jade chuckled in amusement at the girl’s actions.
“Now, you can’t let anyone see this, okay? Aphrodite doesn’t want them to know about her keeping an eye on you through me,” he told her. Nexa nodded her head vehemently before tucking the pendant beneath her shirt so no one could see it. “Now how about we go make you a birthday cake?” he suggested.
“Yay!” Nexa quickly ran out of her room, followed by the robed young man, although he walked at a much slower pace.
A few hours later, the kitchen of Cyrene’s tavern looked as if a minotaur had tried walking through it, followed by a stampede of wild horses. Broken chicken eggshells littered the ground, along with the yolk that was supposed to be inside it. Pans were scattered across the room, along with a few spoons covered in an unidentifiable mixture. Sitting in the middle of the mess was a small, blonde girl sticking her hand into the strange substance. At least, that was how Solan found the room when he walked in.
“Nexa... what happened in here?” he asked as he walked over to the little girl and picked her up. He immediately regretted it when the stick substance that she was covered in got all over him as well.
“I make cake,” she told him with a smile, pointing down at the bowl that she had been sitting next to when he found her. “You try?” Solan laughed quietly and shook his head.
“Nexa, you have to bake the cake before you can eat it.”
“No, no! Try it! It’s gooood,” she told him, smiling in reassurance. Solan rolled his eyes before caving in to her request. Gently setting Nexa down on the floor, he dipped a finger into the mixture and stuck the digit in his mouth. It took all of his self-control not to gag. Apparently, Nexa wasn’t as great a cook as her mother.
“Uh... it’s good... really good, Nexa,” he told her, trying hard to spit the disgusting substance out. “I’ll be right back,” he said before leaving the kitchen as quickly as he could.
“He liked it!” Nexa told her new friend excitedly as she looked up at Jade, who was still staring after Solan. “Jade?”
“Huh? Oh! Sorry. I was a little... distracted,” he told her apologetically. Nexa’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
“Distwacted?”
“Just wondering how well your little friend handles a sword,” he told her, his voice holding a slightly dreamy quality to it.
“Solan uses a staff, though,” Nexa informed him, trying to be helpful. She assumed that she had done her job right when the smile on Jade’s face grew bigger.
“Even better,” he said before following after the blonde boy. Nexa quickly followed after him, eager to spend time with her new friend.
Throughout the rest of the day, after they had cleaned the kitchen, Solan would catch Nexa talking to herself. At first, the thought it was because the connection between her and Gabrielle had gotten stronger, and that Nexa could finally talk to her mother. He had been so excited that he had practically ran to get closer to her conversations with herself, only to find out that she was addressing someone named Jade. It wasn’t until the time that Nexa had to go to bed that Solan was able to ask her about it, since every time he approached her during the day, she took off running.
“Nexa, who were you talking to today?” he asked casually as he tucked the small blonde into bed.
“My new friend. His name is Jade,” she told him happily. “He liked to ask about you.”
“I see... Is Jade the one that told you to make a cake this morning?” Solan asked as he playfully tugged on Nexa’s nose.
“Hey!” she objected, although a giggle escaped before she could stop it. “Yes, Jade helped me bake the cake. He told me that everyone should have a cake on their birthday.” Solan blinked at this news.
“It was your birthday today?” he asked quietly, feeling guilty about not doing anything for her.
“Yeah, but don’t be sad. Jade kept me company,” she assured him. “’Sides, you were busy helping Cywene.”
“Well if you had told me today was your birthday, I would have made time for you, you little rascal,” he told her, ruffling her hair before standing back up. Although he wore a smile on his face, he felt bad that Nexa had to make up an imaginary friend so that she could have someone to spend her birthday with her. He would have to talk to Xena when she came back. “Goodnight, Nexa,” he said quietly before closing blowing out the candle by the side of her bed and leaving the room.
“’Night, Solan,” the girl said sleepily before pulling her pendant out from underneath her night shift and bringing it up to her lips. “’Night mama.”
Gabrielle jerked awake, swearing she had heard her name. When she looked around, however, the only things she saw were the usual guards standing outside her cell and Callisto talking to her rat in the corner. As she turned her head, she felt her bones snap back into place.
‘I must have dozed off for a while there,’ she thought to herself as she rubbed the back of her neck. She hoped it wasn’t still sore when it was time for her to fight. “The fight!” she exclaimed, suddenly realizing how late it actually was.
“Well, it was nice of you to remember to wake up in time. I would hate to disappoint the crowd by going in there by myself,” Callisto told her. “Don’t worry. You’ve still got a few minutes before you get pounded again.” Gabrielle glared at the other woman as she stood up, wincing as she felt her legs shake beneath her.
‘Note to self: Don’t ever fall asleep against the bars like that again,’ she decided as she walked around the small space.
“Alright you two. The crowd’s waiting. Try to bring us in some more gold,” one of the guards said a few minutes later as they opened the door to the cell. Callisto chuckled as she walked past them, enjoying the scared look they got on their faces when she gave them the murderous look that she had developed into an art. Gabrielle was silent, as usual, as she tried to prepare herself for the fight. Even after five months of being stuck inside the prison, she still had to mentally prepare herself for the fights.
They were soon going through the familiar routine of choosing their weapons. As she pulled the sais off the rack, she felt a chill go up her spine. There was something different about this fight that had Gabrielle on edge. For some reason, it didn’t feel right.
“Callisto, be on guard,” she warned her partner in a quiet whisper. The other blonde woman looked down at her with a curious expression.
“You feel it too, huh little bard? I guess I’m not as crazy as you think I am,” she said before walking out into the ring, Gabrielle following after her. When their four opponents made it to the ring, the former bard sized them up. There was nothing special about them. They seemed to be just common thugs that her and Xena used to fight when they were on the road.
“Wait...” Before Gabrielle could finish her thought, she heard the pull of several bowstrings. “Callisto, it’s a trap!” she shouted before grabbing the other woman by the hand and pulling her back, out of the line of fire. “I don’t get it. Why are they trying to kill us?! We’ve been doing what they tell us to.”
“Look, little bard. The people that run this place want their money,” Callisto explained, avoiding another arrow as it flew past her.
“And we’ve been getting them their gold, haven’t we?” Gabrielle asked, not sure where Callisto was going with her explanation. “I mean, we haven’t lost.”
“Exactly. None of the spectators have been placing bets on the other fighters when we fight, so they end up having to hand out more dinars. Eventually, they’re going to be giving out more dinars than they’re raking in,” Callisto explained. The bard blinked, surprised that Callisto was such an expert on the subject.
“I’ve been here a long time, little bard. I learned a few things,” she explained as she pulled Gabrielle by the arm, saving her from being skewered by an arrow. “Now if only you would learn to run and ask questions at the same time,” she growled, slightly annoyed. Getting the message, Gabrielle followed after Callisto. She didn’t know where they were going, but she didn’t care; as long as they were safe from the hail of arrows.
It wasn’t long before the guards started to get in their way, forcing them to fight their way through to safety. Callisto was much more efficient in killing them off, but Gabrielle was still a force to be reckoned with, knocking most of the guards unconscious. They were so close to making it to safety when Callisto heard the sound of a nearby crossbow being loaded. Her eyes quickly found the source of the noise, along with the intended target. Before the arrow was released, the willowy blonde found herself leaping between the arrow and its target; Gabrielle.
“Callisto!” Gabrielle shrieked as she watched the blonde woman’s eyes widen slightly as she looked down at the arrowhead sticking out of her chest before slumping to the ground.
Continued...