~ Mirror Writing ~
by Katelin B.
Disclaimer: Not mine? wish they were.
Violence: I know it's a Xena story, but there isn't any. Yeah I know I was just as surprised as you.
Sex: None of this either, believe it or not. Hey? I haven't written Xena fanfic in a year or two now; gimme a break, I'll warm up soon enough.
Notes: This takes place about a week after Tender Moments. It's the fourth installment in the What If? Series. You should probably read What If?, Little Surprises and Tender Moments first to understand this.
Comments as always can be sent to katelin_b@hotmail.com
What If: Part 4
"Ouch!"
Gabrielle stopped for a second and rubbed her ankle, after tripping over yet another rock in the road. She had to jog to catch up to Xena, who had continued in the dark without pause. "Xena," she groused, "We're only a day away from the Amazons. Why can't we stop for a rest and continue in the morning?"
"Gabrielle, our friends could be in trouble," Xena snapped, not even looking back. She had gone over it several times on the hurried journey, and was too tired to start the conversation again.
Gabrielle remembered the tales Iolaus had told them about the Cronos Stone and the alternate universe he had seen where Hercules and Xena were evil rulers, but had tried to impress on the warrior that it didn't seem to be the same sort of thing. There had been no warning with that, and the stories hadn't written themselves at all since the forced march started. And the bard checked, every time they stopped for a short rest, which wasn't often.
She was getting a little fed up with the pace they had been setting, and had to admit to herself that she couldn't keep it up much longer. For most of the day she had debated telling Xena she wanted to stop, but it wasn't until now, that they were making their way by the wan light of the crescent moon that she began to lose her cool.
"Xena!" Her bark stopped the tall warrior in her tracks. "This is insane. We don't even know if there is any danger, and we won't be any good if we show up exhausted!"
Broad shoulders tensed for a moment with indecision, and then sagged. "You're right, Gabrielle. I'm sorry." She tugged in Argo's reins gently and led them off the road. "We'll rest here until morning and then ride the rest of the way tomorrow."
"Thank you!" Gabrielle huffed, dragging her feet into the clearing Xena seemed to find without trying. The two women quickly set up a fire and pulled out bed rolls, unpacking only the basics they would need, so that they could get going quickly when the sun rose.
"I'm sorry I'm pushing so hard, Gabrielle," Xena sighed, pulling out a whetstone and settling down beside the fire to sharpen her weapons.
"I know you're worried, Xena," Gabrielle replied, pulling out a trail bar to munch on while she checked her scrolls for any new writing. It was becoming habit for her to unroll the ones not finished and set them in a row to see if any would begin ghost writing while she watched again. "I'm worried myself, but we don't even know if it's anything to do with the Amazons, or if it's just because I put them in my first story."
Xena grunted but didn't respond, and Gabrielle knew the conversation was over. She settled back to watch the blank scrolls bye firelight and hope, once again that she was right and her friends were okay?
?Solari sat back and blinked, too shocked to say anything. When Gabrielle had told her about the scroll, she didn't believe it, but couldn't deny what she had just seen. The last quill mark ended at the bottom of the parchment and she looked up at her friend, her mouth open, but no sound coming out.
Gabrielle tossed the dry, clean quill down on top of the parchment and gestured. "See what I mean?"
"Yep," Solari nodded idiotically, "What are you gonna tell the General?"
"Are you kidding?" Gabrielle nearly shouted in fear, "I can't tell her about this! She can't know! It's not hurting anybody."
"But Gabby, she'll find the scroll eventually." Solari's rational thought made Gabrielle pause for a moment.
"She won't find it," Gabrielle said, spinning around at the sound of footsteps marching purposefully down the corridor. She panicked for a moment, and then scooped the scroll up, thrusting it into Solari's surprised hands. "Take it quick!" she whispered, "We'll figure something out later."
Solari hid the parchment under a tunic in the laundry basket just as the door crashed open. Both women dropped to their knees and bowed their heads nearly to the floor as General Xena, leader of Baccus's army, strode in regally.
"Welcome home, my Lord," Gabrielle greeted, not moving from the floor.
"Hello, precious," Xena smiled, tossing her cape over a chair. "Hello, Solari."
"Hello, Lord General," Solari answered respectfully and both women raised their heads from the floor, though staying on their knees.
Xena patted Solari's head kindly and then ruffled Gabrielle's hair, the latter being much more tender and caring, though no one would dare mention it to the warrior's face. She was tired after a full evening of drilling new children and found the action very relaxing. "I see you two have been busy cleaning again," Xena remarked as she eased into her favorite armchair, a wide grin revealing the sharp fangs her Sire's gift had given her.
"Yes my Lord," Gabrielle smiled, sliding a bit closer to the chair.
"I do hope Solari didn't neglect her own duties to help you, precious."
"Oh no, Lord General," Solari responded, keeping her eyes lowered, "Gabrielle helped me clean before we came here."
"Good, good. I wouldn't want Ephiny to think I was stealing her pet away from her." Xena's hand had strayed to Gabrielle's head and was idly stroking the reddish blonde locks.
"Oh no, my Lord," Gabrielle purred, her eyes closed as she thoroughly enjoyed the attention, "Solari and I have found that sharing the chores gets things done faster and we can keep each other company. It helps to pass the time, my Lord."
Xena chuckled softly. "Well if it keeps the two of you out of trouble, then I approve." Solari smiled and blushed, noticing that Gabrielle turned even deeper shades of red. The slave's brash words to Lord Baccus were well known to the entire catacombs, the story having spread like wildfire after her defence of Solari over the incident with Autolocus months before.
"Ephiny should return from scouting soon," Xena added after a long moment, "You should be there to welcome her home Solari."
A broad smile from the brunette. "Yes, Lord General," she said, rising slowly and picking up the laundry basket.
"Tell her to take the tomorrow night off to rest," Xena commanded absently, feeling generous. Things had been quiet for a while, and the rest was mellowing her need to be prepared for anything the Slayer might throw at them.
"Yes Lord General!" Solari beamed, bowing in respect and gratitude, "Thank you, Lord General!"
"Off with you!" Xena barked, but the amused glint in her eyes took the sting out of her words, and Solari kicked up a bit of dirt from the floor as she hurried away. It wasn't until she was close to her own chambers that she realized she had Gabrielle's strange scroll still with her.
Solari pulled the parchment out of the laundry and smoothed it as best she could before rolling it up and pushing it into the folds of her tunic. With it safely concealed from view, she trudged the laundry basket down to the wash slaves, remembering this time to tell them, who the laundry was for so it would be done by the next evening. The last time, she had nearly died of fright at the rage General Xena had displayed upon realizing that she had no clean clothes.
Solari raced through the corridors, hoping to make it back before Ephiny returned home. She wanted to hide the scroll before it was seen and she was forced to break Gabrielle's confidence. She really didn't want to, but it was more important to her that Ephiny be able to trust her.
Skidding to a stop, Solari thrust open the door and looked around frantically. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she was alone, but it didn't last long. Two hands circled her from behind and squeezed, a soft feminine voice burring in her ear; "Boo."
"Augh!" Solari jumped a league in the air and spun around, giving her owner and lover a slap on the arm, "Ephiny you scared the life out of me!"
She didn't realize the scroll had dropped out of her tunic in her fright, too busy trying to breathe and scowling at the other woman's laughing.
"I missed you too, my darling" Ephiny laughed, "Hey what's this?" She picked up the scroll off the floor and looked at her slave/lover shifting around uncomfortably.
"Uh?.." Oh, boy.
Continued in Part 5
The Athenaeum's Scroll Archive