Love/Sex Warning/Disclaimer: This story depicts a love/sexual relationship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it.

If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story.

Violence Warning/Disclaimer:

NOTE: All works remain the © copyright of the original author. These may not be republished without the author's consent.

Any polite comments you would like the author to read send to J.A. Bard Short and to the point would be nice. Venting at the author is not advisable since the Muses protect their own. 8-)

Part 4

That night the women from the circle and Clorinda dreamed. And the silver wolf lay at one end of the cave watching over the women for a while. Content she got up and left the cave through another exit not wanting to alert the guards.

It was time she visited those that the two legged's had taken into their crowded city behind the dead cold stone walls.

Iaia/Gabrielle looked out the window in the small cell studying the pattern of stars and remembering the fun she had with another identifying shapes in the patterns.

I've failed you, she whispered to the dark haired warrior whose name still eluded her. "I've been drawn to another's arms and I…I can't say that I care for her more than you or you more than her. She stared at the top of the ramparts to the castle that she could see if she stood up, which she had unconsciously.

What am I going to do? This play is as real to me as…" she couldn't go on with the thought. "Who am I going to betray?

What in Artemis's moon is that?" she leaned forward to get a better view of a form that appeared on the top of the ramparts. When she blinked her eyes it was gone.

Gabrielle sat back at the desk. She had enough parchment and ink to continue writing though she had finished with the drama Labducus had ordered. She pushed aside the parchment he had sent back to her signed with his seal that he had accepted her conditions to the writing of the play.

Gabrielle had the feeling she was being watched and looked up and out the window. Her breath caught as a pair of blue…no…she blinked and looked again…golden brown eyes stared back at her.

Gabrielle started to giggle as she thought the curling up of the lips of the large silver wolf was a smile. For that moment she felt a wonderful warmth wrap around her heart.

"And to whom do I owe this visit to?" She asked amused. She tried to remember which god the wolf acted as a messenger to when she noted the wolf shook its head and moved closer. Iaia stepped back suddenly frightened as the large figure squeezed effortlessly though the window slit and jumped to the floor. It was now between her and her pallet.

"Ahh. Nice wolf. Nice wolf. Now you wouldn't want to eat a little Bard like me. After all, there are plenty of larger bodies…" Gabrielle stopped and slapped her forehead. "What am I saying…I don't want to see you eat anyone!" She shuddered at remembering what it was like watching a hunting pack pull down a buck and having Xena explain the importance of the balance in the wilds. The buck she told Gabrielle was old and wouldn't have made it through the winter season anyway…Xena! That was the name of…

Gabrielle turned to face the wolf. "Xena is Aleka, the Named. Isn't she?" She asked the wolf expecting, strangely enough, an answer.

Gabrielle got a smile from the silver muzzle. Gabrielle moved past the silver wolf and sat on her pallet. "You are Xena." She told the wolf.

The noise from the wolf made Gabrielle smile. "I think I get it now." Gabrielle patted the space next to her and the wolf obligingly hopped up and circled a few times before settling down next to her, and placing her head in Gabrielle's lap. Gabrielle rested her hand on the furry head and stroked it gently.

For the rest of the night, Gabrielle told the She wolf her plan to get the five women free and herself. Sometime before daybreak Gabrielle had laid to sleep with the wolf next to her.

"Gabrielle, I knew you could figure a way out of this. The rest of us will help from the outside of the castle. We'll be waiting for you in the forest twenty stadiums past the tree that has your mark on it."

In her dreaming mind, Gabrielle was looking up into the cerulean blue eyes of the woman she trusted with not just her life but her soul. She reached up and touched her cheek tenderly. "Thank you." She whispered back.

Gabrielle sighed. Conscious once again that she was in cell in Labducus' castle. Opening her eyes frightened that the She wolf would be caught, she found no one but herself. Sitting up she looked toward the window slit where a cold draft was coming in. Looking closer she saw something flutter, caught in the rough stone.

Gabrielle got up to walk over to the window for a closer look. Reaching out she pulled from the stone some gray hairs intermixed with some black. Clutching it to remind herself that her dream was real she felt an immense sense of gladness pour over her. Now she was certain that they would all escape from Labducus and his master's trap.

Three days after their capture and following Gabrielle's completion of the drama the players were ready. They had withdrawn from each other as well as from any contact from others and created their masks.

Gabrielle could feel an energy in the castle that was subtle and very powerful. It wasn't the same as when she entered. Her stomach felt settled and she was at peace with herself. She had taken those few days she had alone to remember her life as Iaia and with Gabrielle's wisdom and compassion she came to terms with Iaia's guilt and her own in dealing with her mixed emotions and loyalty for Aleka and Xena.

Labducus and his guards came for her on the day scheduled for the performance. She was sitting on the floor with her legs bent, feet over her thighs, hands loosely held across her lap and eyes rolled up into her upper lid. She felt a movement from down the hall before they had arrived in front of her door. There was a change in the guards demeanor, very slight. Was the change in the energy from the player's preparations? Something told her there was more going on.

"Hey!" The guard summoned her in a deep voice.

Iaia took a slow breath in and while releasing it she opened her eyes. She straightened her legs out and slowly got to her feet. She could feel something surrounding her that was like a buffer from whatever Labducus and his guards attitude was trying to elicit from her…she felt nothing from them. Iaia didn't think but rather felt herself in the place she usually was in as she painted. It was a soft golden place…a safe place…a place she was able to feel alive in for inspiration. It was a place Gabrielle was familiar with as she wrote and now she knew it was her special place from another life too.

The first time Iaia was shown the entertainment room, her stomach had become constricted in knots and those that were lying about had dark colors about them. Now there were benches lined up in neat rows and filled with an unsuspecting audience...same dark clouds over everyone, in varying colors. Iaia was seated between two large guards of Labducus' while Labducus surrounded himself with his personal slaves and friends. Smiling to herself Iaia watched the play unfold.

A female child was dedicated to a virgin goddess by her grateful family, the chorus started. She was a beautiful golden child and was loved by the goddess. However her preoccupation with her importance grew as her golden beauty faded into womanhood. She willingly fell under the seduction of a young man sent by one of the gods on a dare that the young priestess, favored and loved by her chosen goddess, would abandon her duties for the sake of an infatuation. The goddess did not believe her beloved young priestess would so easily be swayed to betray all that she had held sacred for the love of a mere mortal and for something so shallow as lust. However, the young man was good and as the seduction neared an end, the god that had made the wager, took the place of the young man and daringly ravished the young priestess on the altar of her goddess.

The fury of the goddess at both the desecration of the fellow god and the betrayal of her priestess brought a heavy punishment on the priestess. She was a virgin goddess and expected the same of her priestesses. To knowingly defile her altar with their lust was an unforgivable transgression!

The young priestess whose childhood golden beauty had faded to a woman who was fair to look upon had become a face that when looked upon by any man would turn them into stone. The young man was heard of no more and the god who defiled the temple of a fellow god spent a long month as a mortal as none of the others on Mount Olympus wanted the habit of defiling each others temples to catch on.

The players moved slowly and as the chorus explained why and admonished the young for their inability to take responsibility for their choices whenever they would secretly meet, the audience would groan as if they knew what was to happen to the two unwise youth. The drama continued to unfold. In the final scene, when the goddess appeared, her mask was a shinning white on one side and a dull black on the other. She showed her white side to the audience when she first appeared on the stage but when she gave her judgement to the priestess who was defiant to the end, she showed her black side.

The audience was quiet for a long moment as the lone voice of the chorus finished the tale of what became of the young man who misused the gifts of Aphrodite. The voice behind the fearsome mask whispered what would become of those that misused the Dionysian Mysteries for Bacchus type behavior...the passion of love for lust for the sake of lust.

The players assembled at the front of the stage, as was their custom. Iaia rose to join them. They propped up their masks on the stage floor so the audience could see the characters and contemplate as they sat in silence. Quietly the players and Iaia descended down the stairs of the stage and walked out, no one moving to accompany them or stop them. They left their audience in a state of consciousness that was neither awake nor asleep. It was where the illumination of thoughts wavered between confrontation of one's soul and one's deeds.

The women kept walking down the hall and out into the courtyard they had been first brought to. The stables were their first stop where their horses and driver of the sled was. Upon seeing them, he asked no questions but quickly help ready their mounts and out of the gates that were open for the usual business of the day they rode. Calmly and without rush.

Iaia's hands on the reins were sweating and a snort from Argo reminded her to relax her hold around her belly. The women who had their warm players cloaks about them didn't want to take time to return to their cells for their warmer cloths. That would be carrying their luck, too far.

As they finally were out of sight of the castle the women couldn't help knee their mounts to a faster pace.

"Oh goddess!" Erica breathed. "I can't believe it was that easy."

The old man riding the back of the sleigh only let out a short laugh and mumbled something about the Flower's protection.

"There's a mark up the road that the others left. We are to get off the road and head for the forest at that point." Iaia had tears falling from her face with relief.

The women picked up a faster pace afraid that Labducus would chase after them.

"Look! Up there in the snow!" Eleanor pointed to a scattering of dark shapes in the snow.

"What…?"

"They're masks!" Gari shouted unbelieving.

"That's how she did it!" Iaia murmured in amazement.

"Who did it?" Kynthia asked clutching under her cloak the Sacred Yoni that she and Berik had joined before the drama.

"The Named. She appeared to me in a dream and told me that she and the others would help from the outside." She didn't want to share with them the more intimate truth that the Named had kept her company for the night. That was to be something told in a story with a lot of thought and time spent before telling it.

"Of course." Eleanor nodded understanding. "In some of the older villages in Macedonia, the people surround their village with masks drawing the spirit of the mask to protect the village. They create the mask at different times of the month, depending on what the mask is representing. For fertility, depending upon whether it's a male child or female they want, they make it at that time of the moon phase. If it's for the planting of seeds, they create it at the full moon."

Argo and Iaia must have spotted the gray wolf in the shadows above them., for Argo halted the moment Iaia spotted the silver sheen in the fading light. There she waited, standing expectantly. The great bushy tail wavered a bit when Iaia's eyes caught hers.

"We go that way." She told the others and Argo promptly started up the side of the road through the snow.

"Hey!" Erica was going to grab Iaia's arm but Eleanor behind her merely pushed her horse forward.

"I have a feeling…" she joked to Erica, "that, that's who we should be following." She patted Erica's thigh as she passed her. "I knew you would make a good repentant sinner."

Erica took her eyes for a moment off Iaia's hurrying figure. "Repentant sinner?" She smirked. "Who said I was a sinner and repentant?" She leaned to take a nip at Eleanor's cheek. Their Bacchus type behavior on the floor as the priestess and the god was so real that both women had thought in their own minds that they would not be able to stop! But they did! Somehow the intensity of the lust ceased as they heard their cue to move on to the next scene.

"I sure hope there's going to be a change of dry cloths, warm food and good company." Gari mumbled as followed behind Kynthia. She took a look back to make sure the large horse and it's passenger and baggage were not in difficulty. But the large horse made it seem easy as he followed the others effortlessly up the slope.

"Over here." Iaia called out. "There's no snow up here."

The others joined her.

"Did you happen to notice that there are no footprints of that…" Erica nervously nodded her head to the wolf that had looked back at the group she was leading.

"She is the Named." Iaia told them confidently, daring them to refute her. Would Xena get upset if she revealed that much, she wondered.

"Holy Gaia!" Eleanor slapped her head. "The great SHE wolf. She was one of Gaia's messengers."

Kynthia was clutching the Sacred Yoni under her cloak. "I think we need to find shelter soon." She told the others. She glanced at Berik.

The Sacred Yoni was changing temperature in her hand. When they had first put the two together they were frightened because it became a shimmering red with white sparks flying about them, energizing their bodies where the sparks fell. They had watched in both fear and amazement when the sparks fell on each of the masks and for a moment looked like they were going to set them on fire. But the colorful display stopped with no apparent change in the room they were in, their costumes, or them.

Berik decided it was better that Kynthia carried the Sacred Yoni while she guarded her. After all, she was an Amazon and Kynthia was a priestess. Neither questioned what had drawn them to the small room that Labducus had given them for storing their finished masks and robes until the drama. The guards did not enter the room nor did they challenge them when they left. What had caused them to reveal to each other that they had their parts of the Sacred Yoni? The Spirit of the Sacred Yoni, of course, they both believed that without question.

Now, Kynthia was concerned for the heat from the Yoni was increasing to making it uncomfortable to hold. Berik caught her glance and held back to walk her mount beside her. Iaia resumed their fast walk after the form of the wolf as it moved quietly and quickly through the forest. The women had to duck some of the low hanging branches but it seemed the She wolf, the Named, was not up to mischief and led them where branches were not so low.

"The Yoni is becoming too hot!" Kynthia whispered in a frightened voice to Berik when she was alongside her.

"What does that mean?" Berik asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you want me to carry it for a while?"

Kynthia shook her head. "What if something happened to draw attention to us. It must be carried in silence."

"To it's next home." Berik nodded. "Just let me know…" she pulled out a strip of cloth that she had used in her role as the chorus. "Wrap this around your hand. It should take some of the heat off."

Berik walked ahead of Kynthia blocking the view of the others from Kynthia wrapping of her hand which showed a red spot on the palm from where she had it resting.

"Hey." Iaia called out softly to the gray figure she was following. "I think we need to take a break. Argo is getting a bit tired."

The golden horse snorted as if it were an insult. But Iaia was thinking the riders were probably weary and needed a break. They had been traveling for a candlemark and the winter night was fast approaching.

The wolf stopped and looked behind her. The two legged's looked tired. But her energy was running out and she needed to return to her physical form. She turned her head back toward where she needed to get them and lifted her muzzle to the air. She let out a yowl and then listened for an answer. One of the Amazon's was on this side of the cave on patrol. They were looking for dinner. The thought of fresh meat made the silver wolf's stomach growl in anticipation.

A tentative wolf cry was returned. She again lifted her face to the sky and called. The reply was closer. The wolf turned to Iaia and the others and waited.

"Someone's over there." Iaia whispered and pointed toward the direction the two legged Amazon was approaching. She wasn't using the trees.

Iaia turned to look at the gray wolf and …it was gone.

Erica pointed to the various places she wanted the others to hide.

It seemed like a candlemark had gone by and noone appeared or moved in the dark forest.

"Who goes there?" Iaia finally asked. She knew there was someone nearby for she could smell the campfire on them and the thought of food made her stomach growl.

"A very big grouchy and hungry Amazon." Lily's voice came back to them laughing.

Clorinda's guards formed a protective watch over them as the circle of friends and Clorinda readied themselves for the symbolic preparation of the masks their dreams had shown them collectively on what to do.

They were all silent as they went into the forest to gather their material. Agnes and Grace prepared mixtures of colors that everyone would use to bind, bless, and color their trance inspired masks.

It took a half a day to complete the masks and the rest of the daylight was spent spreading the mask around the city of Labdu without being seen by the carts of traders going in and out of the city.

Tired from their work they had all returned to the cave. They sat around the Named who was still in her trance state. Agnes started a chant, using a holled log for a drum and the others followed. For the entire night the women chanted, some breaking off at different times to give their voices a rest or to drink the herb tea one of Clorinda's guards prepared.

Clorinda's eyes suddenly opened. She felt the familiar burning in her heart, not painful but a yearning. It was the same thing she felt when she found the Sacred Yoni, the Flower. It was calling her again. She knew patience and how to wait for it to return to her. She knew the Spirit of the Sacred Yoni would show her what needed to be done next.

Agnes' eyes had also opened and she knew they had done what had to be done. She raised her hands and clapped them together. First softly so as not to startle anyone then as eyes opened she gave a sharp clap to break the collective trance.

"We have completed what we need to do."

They all glanced at the still figure of the Named as they all slowly rose.

"How long is she going to be there?" Lily asked as she stretched her sore limbs.

"Until the rest are here." Agnes told her. She patted Lily's sore side gently. "How are your injuries?"

"Hardly feel them at all." She caught the worried look in her eyes. "Agnes, I've been in a lot of places that were not pretty. I have to admit, only a few were as bad as…"

"That was when you were younger and full of …"

"Hey," She jabbed Agnes in the arm, "I'm not that old." Lily looked at the group in the cave. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry and not for any of that weak soup stuff. I'd like something has big chunks of meat."

The guards nodded in approval. It was early in the morning and everyone was tired, but hungrier.

"Four of us can go hunting while the rest of you can get more wood. Looks like we're running out." Lily noted. "We've been preoccupied with other things." She spoke more to herself than the others. But the captain of Clorinda's guards nodded approvingly. He pointed to two of his men who had a bet going that they could out hunt the Amazons. Lily, who was only getting her strength back was not happy that Brona took the challenge half seriously. Now she was ready to show them. Lily loved bets that challenged her Amazon skills.

"I'll go too." She looked at Brona. "You want to go?"

"Sure. I saw some tracks earlier up toward the creek. I'll go off that way. Patroclus, you want to go huntin' with me again?"

The older man laughed. He removed his sword and armour so they could move quieter and quicker. He picked up his bow and quivers and looked to his partner who was also dressed the same. "We'll be out until the sun sets." Brona told the others before they all split up.

Brona liked Patroclus for he was a man of few words, knew his tracking and didn't mind hunting with an Amazon. Their hunting habits were similar.

Lily was paired with Dante. He loved to brag which made for bad first impressions. It was his intention to mislead as the others soon found out. He was serious and Clorinda's second. His knowledge of the area they were hunting in had an advantage.

It was they who had made the killing and signaled to the others so that no more than what they needed was slain. It was just before sunset. The others probably slept while they were huntin, Lily thought. That meant she didn't have to worry about taking guard duty. It meant she got to spend the night full of good food and sleep in warmth, next to Agnes.

Dante hoisted the gutted animal onto his back and nodded to Lily.

"Are you going to be alright back to the cave?" Lily asked.

"Why?" Dante grunted under the weight of their dinner.

"I want to take a quick look along the road."

"Hmmp."

Lily took that as he was fine and she changed her course. She was still pretty far from the road when she heard a howl. Her heart started to beat fast. No wolf howls in the day. It had to be She wolf.

She stopped and faced to where she thought the call came from. She returned a call and started toward the call as fast as she could quietly travel. Another one came. She again returned the call. Cautiously she approached a small clearing in the forest. She waited for what seemed like a candlemark behind a tree waiting. She knew someone was out there.

Iaia's unmistakable clear voice brought a great deal of relief to her as she felt a heavy burden fall from her shoulders. Lily stepped out from behind her hiding place.

Aleka opened her eyes and took a slow breath to regain her senses as…who the Hades am I anyway? She grumbled to herself. It seemed like it had been a long time…no, that was something else. Another time. Aleka put a hand to her head to focus on who and where she was. She could hear sounds of movement around her. I thought I was alone.

"Aleka?" A soft familiar voice called her.

It was disappointing. Why was she disappointed in hearing the voice?

Aleka took another breath and focused on the face that was crouched across from her.

"Agnes." She whispered hoarsely.

"You need to open the circle." She instructed.

Oh, right.

Once opened Grace and Agnes helped the weakened Aleka from her sacred circle to a sleeping fur draped over a saddle.

"How are you doing?" Agnes asked as she busied herself with preparing a tea to replenish the fire energy in the Named.

"Tired." She croaked. A grin appeared on her face as she thought that instead of speech she had almost answered her with a growl. Not really different from Xena's surly replies, she thought amused.

Agnes steadied the cup to her lips as she weakly sipped the warm mixture. After arranging the fur coverings around her Agnes went back to the fire to check on the wood around it they were drying.

Clorinda looked up from the fire she and Grace were working around.

She felt the energy of the Sacred Yoni as if it sent out a strong beat. The others had also stopped what they were doing. They all felt something.

The Named sat up. "It's here." She whispered hoarsely.

"What's here?" Agnes asked from the fire?

"The Sacred Flower, theYoni." Clorinda informed them.

At that moment Dante appeared at the cave entrance with his catch and the others moved to help with the preparation.

"Where is Lily?" Clorinda asked Dante as he stretched his cramped muscles.

"She went to check the road. Do you want me to…"

"No. We will wait. Can you feel it Dante?" She asked in a low voice?

Dante stood for a moment stilling his mind. "Yes." He said surprised.

The meat was cooking and everyone's stomach was growling from the aroma of the food while they were anxious from the feelings of the energy they could now feel and not know when the source of it was going to reveal itself.

It was more than a candlemark later when a guard at the entrance to their cave stuck his head in. "The Flower is here, Lady Clorinda." He told her excitedly.

Lily was the first to duck her head inside and while the others held their breath, figures draped in ceremonial costumes entered behind her. Iaia's face was recognized as she straightened from the entrance and pushed her hair out of her face.

The noise was deafening as everyone was shouting and hugging and trying to exchange information.

Iaia made her rounds of hugging and laughing all the while keeping her eyes on the figure that was leaning tiredly against a saddle draped with a sleeping fur. Finally she made her way to the blue eyes that were shinning in the dark interior of the cave.

She knelt slowly at the edge of the fur. "Thank you..." She whispered. "Named."

Aleka smiled. "I'm glad it worked out." She told her softly.

Iaia took a deep breath. "How long more of this journey?" Her face matched what Xena was feeling.

Aleka chuckled. "Let's see what Lady Clorinda has to say."

"It's about the Sacred Yoni."

"Yes."

"Kynthia and Berik had it. They put the parts together just before the performance and …it somehow gave more meaning to everything." She told Aleka in a low voice.

Aleka nodded. "It now has to return to Lady Clorinda so she can finish her task."

Iaia nodded. "I understand now. It was meant for her city but first, we had to help change Labducus because he was a worse threat and Lady Clorinda wouldn't have been able to do it herself.

"Not him but what he was trying to bring into the city." Aleka smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished."

"So am I."

"Well, I am stuffed!" Lily laughed and patted her stomach, "not to mention very tired."

"Isn't this the time for a story?" Eleanor poked Iaia.

"Yes. We all need to catch up on what's been happening." Iaia turned to Aleka who looked a little more refreshed after eating, though not by much. "You were the first to disappear. So you need to start."

Aleka looked up from the cup she was idly playing with. "There's not much to tell..." Aleka began in an all too familiar way to Iaia who shook her head with a smile on her face.

Following Aleka's tale, which was short and lacking in details, typical of the dark haired warrior's style, Iaia thought; Iaia told of her group's escape and then turned to the others for their input. She left out how she had over heard Berik and Kynthia's conversations, due to her still sharp hearing. Best to leave their story to them to tell.

The story telling went into the early morning hours. As tired as Lily was, she managed to doze only when her group told their part. When everyone finally made it to their sleeping furs it was with relief that, that adventure was over.

Aleka woke after a few candlemarks of sleep. She was sleeping on her side and cupped around a familiar figure. She smiled as she felt Gabrielle stir but only to sink deeper into slumber, pushing up against her to reassure herself that Aleka was still there. She looked toward the entrance of the cave and could see it was just before dawn. Berik and Erica were moving outside to relieve the night guards. Glancing around the dark cave Aleka could make out sleeping forms scattered about the fire that was giving off a soft glow and enough heat from the embers to keep warmth in the cave. Nodding to herself she let sleep overtake her again.

The movement of Gabrielle in her arms woke her.

Gabrielle patted her arm as she rose from under the warm covers and not quite awake, stumbled outside to take care of her morning needs.

"Well, what are your plans?" Clorinda asked Aleka. Aleka could feel everyone's eyes on her as she carefully poured herself another cup of tea.

"We need to resume our journey…and you need to resume yours." She turned to Kynthnia.

Kynthia's face turned red for a moment.

"You still have not told us your tale." Aleka told her moving her gaze to include Berik who was staying close to Kynthia.

Kynthia looked directly at Lady Clorinda. "We have no tale that can be spoken of lightly…but I can say, Clorinda will not continue her journey without the Sacred Flower."

Clorinda nodded. "It is time for the passing of the Flower." She rose to give the standing Kynthia a hug. They both held each other for a long moment.

"Thank you again. I know you say you are from Lesbos, but I think you are all more than just players for the Muses. My people thank you though some have not shown the welcome you really deserve. Next time you pass Lapurities, we will do you better honor."

Iaia was touched and gave her a hug followed by the rest of the troupe. Aleka stood back and nodded to Clorinda instead.

Aleka could feel the influence of Xena asserting itself more. A good sign was the increase of her personal space, which Aleka didn't have need for such a wide space about her. The other was Aleka was feeling less of a connection. It was disorientating for both characters.

All's Well, If It Can End Well

Clorinda's group left first as they were eager to once again approach Lappurities where they wished to make the center of Adris. Though they had left Lapurities to Labducus' mercenaries Clorinda was sure it could be returned easily to her people as Labducus would no longer be interested. He had problems in his own city and would be calling for as much help as he could.

The women checked on their horses and reloaded the cart with the trunk that Erica and Lily had ridden out to retrieve from where the four women had hid it. The sky was clear when the group left the cave and started on their last three days journey to Paeonia. However, the second morning brought cold rain and their last day was just as dreary, cold and wet. No one was in a good mood when they approached the faded wooden doors that stretched between the tall gray towers, blocking the entrance to what the chiseled stone announced as the Temple of Mecsa.

Agnes looked up into the falling gray rain to see if anyone was peering over the crenelation. It looked and felt deserted. She shifted uncomfortably in her saddle as she could feel the groups collective tension. Here was the end of their journey and there was…nothing.

Xena had a noncommittal expression on her face as she studied the crenelations on each pillar that the scarred weathered gate hung between. She could sense no presence or movement, not even a breeze. The rain was falling straight down. There were no loopholes in the pillars. Xena dismounted and studied the mountainside that the two pillars had been carved out of. It didn't appear to be eroding, plenty of winter shrubs holding the earth together and a healthy growth of trees that ran up the sides of the mountain on either side of the two pillars. Even in the rain she knew scaling the sides of the mountain would not get them past the gate. The pillars were part of the mountain and the gate was flush to whatever it was covering. Either with time the mountain sealed itself, or it was originally designed that way.

Impatiently Lily had pulled her horse to the front of the gate and with the hilt of her short sword pounded on the wet wood. The sound surprised them all for it was a loud boom, as if she had been beating on a drum.

"Lily." Erica whispered under her breath. She of course was grateful Lily was hurrying this along but maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have knocked so hard.

"Goddess." Lily laughed a little abash. "If I had known it was going to sound so loud, I would have tapped."

"No one will answer." An old quavering voice told them.

Xena turned to the voice that was squatting under the cover of one of the trees, wet with an equally looking wet dog. Aleka walked closer to the form. The figure was so old Aleka couldn't tell the gender of their informant, much less hear it in the ancient voice. Looking closer she noted the sled the figure was huddled on. It appeared their adviser had no legs.

"Old one," Xena nodded in respect. "how do we enter to pay homage to the goddess?"

The old voice cackled with glee which was stopped short with a bought of coughing. The old clawed hand waved Iaia and Agnes' concerned movements to go to his or her assistance away.

"I have a small shelter up the road. Can't fit all aya," the voice chuckled, "but I'm sure ya know how to build some cover of your own."

"How do ya know we intend to stay?" Erica asked.

"Hmmmp. I can tell ya traveled a long way…" the old one took a breath, "and ya don't look the type to just turn away at a closed door."

"All right. We'll accept your hospitality and share what provisions we have." Xena told the nodding ancient head.

Iaia was thinking that this was certainly not the goddess. Her memory of the old women was not so dim that she couldn't tell the difference in meeting a divine person in disguise and meeting a lost soul in no disguise at all.

"What is your name, Old One?" Xena asked courteously.

"Ha. Hmmm. It's been so long that I have been asked to give my name…let's see…you can call me Cybele."

"Not the same Cybele from Phrygia?" Iaia asked concerned. This just can't be the legendary Queen of Phrygia who no one knew if she was alive or dead.

"Ha. You know of the stories? Hmmm. No. Perhaps you should call me then…Agdistis. Have you heard of her?"

Iaia shook her head. "Noooo. I don't think so. Who is she?"

The old woman was pulled on her sled by the dog that patiently plodded in the rain dragging her mistress behind. The water dripped off the long matted and shaggy coat. It's head was held down and the water ran down its nose onto the muddied road they were now following. About a quarter of a candlemark the dog turned down a well worn path that led into the woods that surrounded the hill.

Agdistis was right when she said her place was small. The covering from the woods kept most of the rain out but the drops that fell were big and cold. Xena found what use to be a shelter for horses. She had the women start on the repair for their own use. It would also leave the old women with more shelter than what she had. Her hut was in sad disrepair. One wall was near collapse and it seemed she only lived in one small room of what once was a three room cot. While Agnes and Grace prepared dinner, Xena and Erica inspected the wall and decided what they could do.

"It looks like it just needs a pole here in this putlog hole and a cross piece in this one here." Xena observed from the outside of the collapsed room.

"Yea. I wonder where the two cross pieces went? It's not like they're easy to make off with."

Xena looked around. "Hmm. Fire maybe. Come on. The sooner we get them cut, the sooner we can get a shelter over our heads."

She studied the roof from her position and decided that some patching was in order as well and gave that core to Brona and Camila. They both had good hands for weaving.

The women took a brief break to take warm nourishment then resumed their work not wanting to spend anymore time out in the dampness than possible. Xena had given Gabrielle instructions to get as much information from their hostess as possible, while she moved around assisting the women as they struggled with repairs in the dim light. It was dark and they were working by torchlight. The shelter for the horses was completed first and the women from that project after securing the horses in the make shift pen went over to help the women fit the poles that were finally ready. The roof was patched with woven pine needles. All that was left was cleaning the debris from the two now usable rooms.

"I'm for just sleeping on the junk, if some of it didn't smell so bad. Did some animal die in here or what?" Gari complained as she leaned up against the straightened up wall tiredly.

"You can sleep in tomorrow morning." Xena told them, as if that was a consolation.

The old woman seemed to be getting more information out of Gabrielle than the other way around, but by experience, Xena knew Gabrielle was doing more than pumping the old woman for information…she was forming a friendship, as was her nature. She never knew Gabrielle to use anyone. It was her concern that if she wanted something from someone, that she should give something in return.

Xena caught the faded eyes of the old woman that glinted in the flickering lamp light. Gabrielle had found some lamps and oil and refilled the lamps and set them so that the small room was reflecting a warm glow. The old woman had hoisted herself up onto a pallet that acted as her chair and bed. The room had been cleaned and rearranged, she noticed. There were some things that once were out of the old woman's reach, that now were more at her level.

"Gabrielle?" Xena's soft voice called to her.

"Hmm?"

Xena for a moment stopped. She had forgotten. She then shrugged her shoulders. To her the journey was at an end and she could feel less of a connection with Aleka then she had at the beginning of the journey. She delivered the circle of friends to the temple gates of Mecsa. For all intents and purposes, that was the end of her responsibility. The itch for the familiar leathers and armor and the feel of her sword was making her irritable. The discomfort of the weather she could ignore but not the missing of her familiar garb that identified her with who she was.

The last three days she had found herself spending more time with Argo and had almost mounted her instead of Itali, the reddish brown horse she had been riding this journey, that morning.

She wanted to talk to the others about her feelings that she believed her connection with the group was completed and she wanted to move on. She wanted to be back to who she was and travel alone with Gabrielle. She was tired of company and tired of keeping up a civil face for the ceaseless questions she was asked. How on earth she had put up with it for so long she didn't even want to think about!

"All right. Everyone grab a place to bed down for the night. No need for anyone to stand watch." She nodded to Lily, "We need to reassess our goals, so everyone think about what you want to do from here. We'll listen to what Gabrielle has to say, the old woman and make our decisions. Alright?"

Agnes and the others nodded. They were becoming restless. It wasn't just from the weather. Exhausted from their work they all found a place that the torch light showed to be safe from unwanted bugs and settled down for deep sleep.

Gabrielle settled next to Xena and curled up with a hand resting on Xena's leg as she sat and looked into the darkness. When she could hear the others breathing deepen into sleep, she slid out from Gabrielle's reach and quietly left the room. Pulling a still damp fur over her she stepped out into the small cleared space around the hut.

Listening to the night sounds she didn't detect the rain continuing, but drops would occasionally fall that would accumulate on the many branches that were forming a protective canopy over the old woman's cot.

Xena stopped by the shelter for the horses and could see a light form detach itself from the others and slowly amble its way toward her.

Xena scratched behind the ears of her golden friend. "Hey girl. You sure deserve a lot of apples."

The mare agreed, bumping her head against her chest then taking a playful nip at her shoulder.

Xena chuckled and walked over to the cart that was left outside of the shelter since it had a protective tarp thrown over it. If the rain was serious they would have found a better place for it but a few drops the tarp could handle.

She pulled the tarp back to regard the contents. It was surprising that with the occasional passing cloud and the tree covering some moonlight actually was shinning through onto the cart. A glint of something caught her eye and she leaned forward, holding her breath as she pulled the familiar object toward her.

She pulled her sword from its sheath and for a moment she just held it up loving the moment of its familiarity and the good memories that it carried. So, Lily brought it along, she sniggered to herself. She rummaged around and found her leathers and armor neatly folded in a sack. It was amazing how she hadn't noticed it until now, but then she didn't do much around the cart except help repair the wheel the few times one or the other broke.

"Hi. Can't sleep?"

Hades! Xena turned around slowly. The same moonlight that shinned through on the cart formed a glowing outline around Gabrielle.

Xena smiled sheepishly in the dark. "Something like that."

Gabrielle leaned against the cart and looked at the things in her arms, notably the sword.

"I'm glad this is at an end." She told her softly.

Xena sat next to her on the cart. "My parts at an end." Xena told her with certainty.

Gabrielle nodded with a smile that was hid behind the hair that fell to the sides of her face as she looked down at her feet.

"Hmmm. Mine too. I'd like to get back to smaller travel groups, quieter camps, and long moments to study the stars and make up stories about them."

Xena turned to face her with a smile. "I could go for a dry warm cave…far…far…away from others…that's big enough for two people and a horse."

Xena could see the pulse point on Gabrielle's neck jump and heard the little intake of breath.

She turned to face the dark profile that was lit up in the moonlight that rested on them both, giving a soft glow to the woman's features that she could recognize so clearly.

"I say we leave sometime by tomorrow…or I'll do something really embarrassing." Gabrielle informed her in a low sensuous voice.

Xena's eyebrow lifted in a familiar expression of inquiry. "For you or me?"

Gabrielle laughed softly, embarrassed. "You are a hard one to embarrass when that's the intention. However, I do remember an occasion…"

Xena listened to Gabrielle's soft voice tell a story of a time when she was taken off guard and embarrassed by a village they helped after it suffered at the hands of raiders. The grateful village had wanted Xena to take the only thing left of value, a small jewel, an infant. The speech of the newly elected elder had her shifting from one foot to another throwing glaring looks at Gabrielle that she hadn't rescued her from this. The jewel never left the village with them for Gabrielle did step in and rather than refuse the gift, entrusted the village to care for her. The infants predicted future was what made her so valuable.

Xena laughed at the absurdity of them raising an infant on the road, in her line of work, and with her not believing that a prediction meant it was going to happen. Her eyes rested with tenderness on the woman who didn't refuse the gift that was given from the heart of strangers. The warlord would have taken, what she wanted and when she wanted it. The longer she had to wait for something she wanted, the more satisfying it was when she got it. That part hadn't changed much. Thinking about that brought a feral grin to her face, which Gabrielle caught.

"Remind you of something?"

"Yaaa. I'll tell ya bout it later."

Gabrielle lifted herself further up into the cart. "Come 'ere." She whispered to a smirking Xena.

Xena pulled the tarp back over the top railings and crawled under the covering finding very strong arms pulling her down into warm comforting darkness. The Bard's heart beat rapidly under her fingertips and smell of her arousal sent excited chills up Xena's spine. Lips possessively covered hers. Xena's body shivered in anticipation as Gabrielle's tongue played with the outside of her lips, sucking on the lower one then obtrusively pushing between her parted lips. Xena finally took charge and rolled them both over, ravaging the mouth of a willing lover. Hands roaming, pausing, teasing, pulling, as both struggled out of their cloths to feel each other's skin pressed up against the other. Their groans and sighs lasted until the first signs of daylight that lit up the top of the canopy of trees. The sky was blue but the weather was still cold…outside of the tarp.

Both women rolled out of the cart pulling their cloths into place with Xena leading the way to where she could hear water running. There were morning birds doing their usual greeting calls to the raising helios, and small creatures hunting around for their daily fair. Xena could feel the soft fluttering of a falcon as it stretched its wings from a nights sleep, getting ready to take to the sky and search for its own meal.

Gabrielle's heightened senses were no more but she didn't seem to care for now they could resume their own lives. She shivered and was pulled in closer to the tall woman's body that never seemed to get cold. Their feet made almost no sound as they walked toward the cold water.

While both women bathed Gabrielle recounted the old woman's tale. "It's an odd story, Xena. Brrrrrr." She interrupted herself at the first encounter of the cold water, "How can you stand in this cold stuff without shivering?" It was a question that was asked often between them and an answer was never expected. Xena only smiled and tossed her their herbal soap and Gabrielle resumed her story.

"Anyway, she said a raptor would one day redeem her." She finished.

She looked up at the leathered form next to her as Xena was tying her boots. "If she had said a gray wolf, I would have told her…"

Xena stopped her tying and looked up at Gabrielle who was standing next to her towel drying her hair.

"What?" Gabrielle asked noting the sudden coldness in her companion's demeanor.

"I'm not that person anymore, Gabrielle." She told her frowning. "And if tomorrow you asked me about any of it…I would say it never happened." She finished firmly.

Gabrielle studied the serious blue eyes that were looking directly into hers. Sounds from the cot above them drifted down as the others started to move around. "I…before you forget…before I forget. I want you to know…Iaia loved Aleka. She was number two priority in her life, though."

Xena could feel her heart skip a beat. She reached over and cupped a hand around Gabrielle's cold chin. "Thank you." She sighed looking back toward the cot. "Their paths were going in different directions. Today…we are…sharing a road…where and to what…" Xena shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll travel together." Gabrielle whispered. She reached up and brushed her chilled lips against the soft warm willing lips of her partner.

Slowly Xena pulled away. "We gotta get back and end this road show." She murmured letting her breath heat Gabrielle's skin.

"I hope you know of a nearby private, warm, empty cave that is just big enough to fit two people and maybe, a horse." She whispered before taking a teasing bite of Xena's lower lip.

Xena sighed and straightened up. "Come on." Xena could feel a grin appear on her face as she relished the feel of the familiar leathers, boots, grieves and weight of the armor and sword at her back. Then there was the warm hand resting on her arm from Gabrielle as she listed the foods she would like to have for their own journey.

Agnes was sitting on the outside of the cot with Lily chatting when her eyes caught sight of a tall dark figure whose armor glinted and sparked from a few stray sun beams that slipped through the thick cover of the forest canopy. At first she did not recognize what she was seeing, for she had only seen Xena, the Warrior Princess, once. It was at the beginning of their quest, and she didn't wear her armor for long.

Lily turned to see what her companion looked so stunned about, worrying that she left her sword in the cot and hoping Aleka wouldn't find out or she would have to pay an embarrassing price.

Slivers of sun that broke though the thick wooded branches overhead bounced off Gabrielle's hair and glinted and moved from different parts of the armor of the warrior as the two approached the cot. Both women watched silently as the pair shared laughter and moved with a different grace that Iaia and Aleka possessed. There was no more Aleka in the tall dark figure that showed an alertness to her environment as she scanned around her while listening to her partner who was animating whatever she was saying with her gestures and a shaking head. Lily mentally measured how far it would take for the two to take note of their audience for she knew there were others that watched as Xena and Gabrielle approached. Dressed in armor and leathers there was no mistaking that Xena was no longer the Named.

"Zeus!" Erica whispered near the Agnes. "I got so use to her as Aleka that I didn't realize how different the two are."

"Good mornin to ya!" an old voice croaked from the small room adjoining the doorway the two women were sitting in.

Gabrielle stopped her gestures and waved at the old woman that was on her stoop sipping a beverage.

"Good mornin to you, Agdistis. Did ya sleep well?" Gabrielle's warm voice asked.

"Aye. Never so good in a long time."

Xena said nothing but merely nodded.

Now, that's the Xena I've heard about. A woman of few words, Lily mused.

The old woman pointed to Xena. "Ya look mighty different in that getup. Ain't ch'a a bit cold?" She looked her up and down noticing no appearance of chill.

"No." Xena turned to the others that were peering at her from different places. "There's a cold river off that way. Follow our tracks. After everyone's cleaned up, we'll talk and plan."

"Looks like you already have made yours." Lily couldn't help mentioning.

"Well, we made it to the temple." Gabrielle laughed. "I can't remember anyone saying their destination was to get into the temple."

Grace started to chuckle. "That would be just like a goddess.

"Wait a moment, here." Berik spoke up.

"Why don't we all wait a moment. On a full stomach is the best way to begin this discussion."

"I'll go with that." The old voice croaked her agreement.

Gabrielle smiled at the old face. It hurt her to think how the old woman probably struggled to get by. Before they left Xena and her would make sure there was a lot of split wood and some meat for her. If it were a small enough animal it would keep in this cold.

Gabrielle looked up at her partner who was wearing her usual stoic expression. Xena returned Gabrielle's look with an inquisitive look paraphrased with an upraised eyebrow.

"I was thinking before we leave, we can make sure Agdistis has enough wood and meat to last her a while."

Xena nodded her head. "I was thinking of starting on the wood now, while the others get themselves together." The smirk was unmistakable as it lifted the corners of her mouth and her blue sapphire eyes glinted with mischief.

"Ya know?" Gabrielle pulled one of the leather strips on the tall woman's skirt, "after this, I don't think I'll be wanting to hear the phrase 'getting themselves together' for a while."

"Hmm."

Xena disappeared into the woods to gather firewood and Gabrielle and Grace put a morning meal together for everyone.

By the time the women were gathered around the cot with full stomachs, Xena had a nice stack of wood under the shelter they had rebuilt for the horses. She kept the piles low so the old woman or her dog, if he was trained to drag pieces of wood to the old woman, could easily reach the top of the stack without the rest collapsing.

Chapter 8

Till We Meet Again…

"Before anyone starts…" Gabrielle began, "let me tell you what our hostess has told me about the temple." Gabrielle was standing, as was her custom when she was going to say something that required gestures and…a story.

"I'm going to tell you a tale of a young thief whose ability to steal would have made her the Queen of Thieves, by her telling. One day, before we were all born…in this life…the young thief heard about an orb that shinned even in the dark and whoever held it was given the power of foresight. It was in a temple, she had been told, that had no guards, but, it was impossible to get into the temple. This young Queen of Thieves decided the challenge to get into the temple alone, was incentive to make a trip to this distant temple and check it out for herself.

Many seasons had passed and there were many villages and towns this young thief had move through, making her living as she best knew how, until…she had finally reached a village that told her she was near the temple.

The young thief was warned by the villagers, who seemed to know exactly why she was there, not to try to force entry into the temple for there would be a stiff penalty to pay.

The young thief was not frightened of death. She had been surviving on her own for so long, loneliness was to her a punishment and she was already living with it, so she ignored the warnings.

She had tested the doors already. They were ancient and scarred with the marks from others who had attempted to force their way in. She tried beating on them for admittance and even entertained herself with the sounds she caused, yet…no one came to the door.

In broad daylight she started to climb the side of the mountain to dig a way though the top of the door. She succeeded in getting in, which really surprised her at how easy that was.

She found the orb, for it was a shinning light in the dark room behind the closed doors she slipped over. She held it in her hands and saw…her future. Frightened and then angry she shouted obscenities and curses at whomever the temple it was to and threw the orb against what she thought was a wall.

The young trespasser and would be thief was horrified when the ball that lit up the area it was hurled toward did not show what figure caught the orb and held it as it approached her.

There was no conversation with the unseen figure. The orb was simply…set back…onto…its stand.

The thief does not know how she got out of the temple, just that she found herself approaching a town that she had previously visited, and stole from. She was recognized and chased after and caught.

The villagers passed sentence on her and cut off her legs. They waited until she healed then gave her a dog to pull her on a sled and sent her away. She eventually returned to the temple, and since then has been waiting for a raptor to rescue her, release her to death.

Gabrielle leaned back against the familiar figure that stood behind her when she finished.

The old woman was rocking back and forth on her pallet nodding from her room as Gabrielle told her tale.

Agnes cleared her throat. "Alala has a falcon."

Alala frowned as she pondered the story's meaning. How could her falcon release the woman of her curse? She turned to look out the open doorway at the large owl that was sleeping under the shelter near the horses. The falcon had taken off earlier to hunt for his meal. He was far away for she couldn't reach him in thought.

Xena said nothing about the emblem she bore on her flag when she was a warlord. Whether the raptor symbol was referring to her or not, if there was a way to release the old woman from her fate she wanted to try. She glanced down at Gabrielle whose face was showing she was trying to figure out a solution to the raptor that was suppose to release her new friend.

She slid her hands from Gabrielle's shoulders, where she had naturally put them when Gabrielle leaned into her.

"What about the rest of you?" She asked in a low voice looking around the room at the women who were in various relaxed postures.

"Well, some of us have thought of going to Crometh and check out the local talent." Eleanor told Xena with a grin.

"I heard they have a festival at every full moon in honor of the Muses." Gabrielle leaned forward excitedly.

Xena smiled to herself as she had already made plans for them to spend time there…after they spent some time alone.

"What about the rest of you?" Xena asked in a low tone, nodding toward Lily.

A broad smile was on the woman's face when she looked toward Agnes. "Well, the rest of us thought we might head that way to. After all, it's not too safe for young priestesses to be traveling alone on these roads, especially without some sort of protection."

"And you two?" Erica inquired.

Xena let a little smile curl one corner of her lips. "You might see us there."

Gabrielle laughed and turned to give the warrior a smile. "First things first, huh?" She asked her softly.

Xena nodded, looking down into the eyes that were openly showing her desire. "Yes. First things first." Xena could feel her throat tightening up and quickly pulled herself away. "I'm going over to the temple gates with our hostess…first."

Xena went to the corner where Argo's saddle was and she hoisted it up to her shoulders and headed toward the small corral.

Gabrielle and the others followed the tall woman out as she made her way to the horses. Argo was scratching her head on the railing, biding her time as if she were waiting for her real mistress to come claim her.

"All right girl. Let's get back to business, huh?" Argo curled her lip at her mistress and backed away.

"Argo." Gabrielle told the mare, "It's her or me."

Argo shook her head and snorted stepping back into the shelter.

"All right." Xena told the horse frowning. "You don't happen to have an apple on ya, do ya." Xena asked Gabrielle.

The old woman cakled below them. Xena looked down at the old form that had moved quickly from the cot to the horse enclosure with the others.

"I might have a few." She croaked in her old voice.

"Xena, what are you going to do?" Gabrielle asked as Xena tightened the cinch on Argo's saddle.

"Our old friend here and I will go knocking on the front door."

"And…"

Xena just smiled. "Why don't you get our things together so we can leave when I get back."

Xena hoisted the old woman onto Argo's saddle then jump behind her.

When they were out of sight of the others the old woman sighed. "So…what plan do you have?"

"Wait and see." Xena told her quietly.

When they reached the tall formidable gates, Xena slid off Argo's back and effortless lifted the old woman. She carried her to the front gate and set her down. Pulling her bodice knife she handed the hilt to the old woman.

"Knock on the door once. The sound you hear is the sound you make to open the door."

The old woman took the dagger and laughed silently to herself. She struck the door once, and for a frail old lady, it was forceful. The loud boom was deep and riverbeated off the gates and under their feet. The old woman's voice had no sound of age as she made the exact tone, which was picked up, by the two adjoining towers, further causing the earth beneath them to vibrate.

The gates opened. Xena stepped back and turned. She mounted Argo and rode back to the cot.

Gabrielle was waiting near the edge of the road. She had said her good byes and didn't want the others to hold them up with questions about what happened to the old woman.

She felt the horses hoof beats before she saw them. A golden apparition appeared on the sun bright road and astride her was a tall dark warrior, whose armor shone in the sun and made her heart stop for a moment. As Argo and her mistress came closer, Gabrielle caught the wide smile on the dark woman's face on seeing her.

Xena pulled Argo out of her rolling canter and over to where the Bard waited, saddlebags and staff resting against a tree, out of the mud.

"Need a lift?" She asked in a seductive tone.

Gabrielle lifted a part of her long winter coat, revealing a bit of her skin underneath. "Know somewhere where I can get…"

She didn't finish what she had to say as Xena slid off Argo and without further conversation pulled Gabrielle into her arms and gave her a long hug.

"Let's get outta here." A gruff voice suggested. Saddlebags were lifted and secured to Argo's saddle. Xena easily vaulted onto Argo's back and gave Gabrielle a hand up.

"I spotted this place, not too far from here…" Xena started.