This takes place shortly after The Quill is Mightier. Other than
that, read it and find out.

Archive: Anyone who wants it, but tell me if you have it.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.




It was going to be a beautiful day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
The waves were crashing rhythmically against the shore. Gabrielle sat
on the outcropping of rocks watching the starry night sky give way to
the dawn. The waves of high tide were crashing at her feet as she
observed the hues of the morning sky. As the sun made its first true
appearance, she rose to return to her vigil by Xena's side.

Xena had been injured as she fought to keep an invading army from a
nearby town. It was only a minor wound, but Xena had treated it
carelessly. By the time the town had won the battle, the wound had
grown infected. Xena had insisted that it was a minor infection, and
that as she had treated it there was nothing to worry about. They had
traveled only a few hours before Xena had collapsed on the road with
a high fever. Gabrielle had found a cave for them to stay in not far
from the beach. Gabrielle had nursed Xena through the rest of the
day, and on into the night. In the latter part of the night Xena's
fever had broken, allowing her sleep to become a healing one.

When Gabrielle returned to the cave she let Xena sleep for several
more hours, before waking her to eat a midday meal. Xena ate the
light meal ravenously. Her body craved food to supply energy. The
fever had left her as weak as a kitten. Well, maybe a panther kitten.

"Gabrielle you don't have to stay here and pamper me. Go out. Do a
little exploring." Xena encouraged Gabrielle.

Gabrielle was gathering up her blanket. "Don't worry, I will. First I
am going to help you outside to get a little sunshine and fresh air."

"That does sound awfully good." Gabrielle helped Xena up, and took
most of her weight as she led Xena outside to the beach. She led Xena
to an outcropping of rock and lay her blanket on the sand beside it.

"Here, you lay down and I will fetch some more blankets and some
water from the cave." Gabrielle followed word with deed and brought
out two more blankets. She lay them where Xena could easily reach
them.

"What is all this for?" Xena asked as she plucked at one of the
blankets.

"This is for you to use in a few minutes when you are in the shade of
this rock. We want you to get a little sun, not a lot. Be sure and
cover up. You can still have a relapse if you aren't careful. I'm
going to explore some tide pools down the beach a ways. Are you sure
you'll be alright here by yourself?" Gabrielle inquired.

"I'll be fine. I'm better now. I just need to rest. You go on and
have fun." Xena said with an affectionate smile.

"Alright then, I'll be back in a little bit. Don't try and go back to
the cave without me." Gabrielle admonished before turning and walking
away down the beach.

"I'll stay right here. You shouldn't worry so much." Xena said to
Gabrielle's back.

Gabrielle just laughed as she continued on.

"Gabrielle! There's a dangerous riptide on this beach so be careful!"
Xena called after her.

Gabrielle turned and walked backwards for a moment as she waved at
Xena. "Now, you need to not worry so much!" Gabrielle called back.

Xena lay back on the blanket as she laughed and soaked in the sun.

Gabrielle walked along the edge of the rocks, the waves crashing
against them and occasionally wetting her with the spray. The wind
was whipping her hair every which way and Gabrielle was having a
blast playing amongst the rocks, and enjoying the afternoon sun.

The only thing marring her enjoyment, was the feeling that she was
being watched. She had been feeling that way since shortly after she
had left Xena. However, whenever she looked there was no one to be
seen. She looked around again and noticed that could barely see Xena
in the distance. She decided it was time to head back.

She had taken only a few steps, when she felt a strong hand grasp her
wrist and pull her off of the rocks and into the water below. She
immediately tried to fight her way to the surface. The hand, which
had pulled her into the water, returned and stopped her from reaching
the surface. Gabrielle turned to see who was holding on to her. She
found an astonishingly good-looking merman. If it wasn't for the
golden tail she could have mistaken him for Apollo. He had extremely
bright blond hair with equally bright blue eyes. His features could
have been mistaken for feminine, with high cheekbones and full lips,
if not for the underlying strong jaw.

He leaned forward placed his lips against hers and blew air into her
mouth. Gabrielle felt the precious air enter her lungs, as well as
the spell that came with it. She immediately knew that the water was
no longer a threat. She could now breathe and speak underwater as if
she was born to it. She didn't hesitate to make use of this new
ability.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gabrielle shouted angrily.

"I'm claiming my bride." He said simply as he pulled her further into
the ocean.

"I am not going to be your bride! I don't remember agreeing to marry
you!" Gabrielle tried to argue with him as she fought to slow him
down. As she struggled, her wraparound skirt came loose. She grabbed
for it but they were moving too fast.

"You didn't have to agree. You are being given a great honor." The
merman said, as if it was the most ordinary thing to kidnap a bride.

He came to a stop. He turned towards her and smiled. "I want to
surprise you with your new home. Sleep." As he spoke he ran his hand
over her face. Gabrielle could feel her awareness draining away no
matter how hard she tried to stay awake.


Gabrielle started to drift into awareness. She could hear voices
arguing quietly, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. The
voices moved closer. The deeper voice sounded familiar, but
Gabrielle's sleep fogged mind couldn't recognize it. "Alright, you
win. A mortal isn't what I would have wished for you, but she won't
be mortal for much longer." Gabrielle felt a tingling sensation in
her legs as she fell back into deep sleep.




Gabrielle came awake with a start. She was reclining half in and half
out of the water. She was in a large underground cavern, and the only
entrance appeared to be through the water. She went to stand up, only
to realize that her body wasn't moving properly.

As Gabrielle looked down her mind registered two things. The first
was that she was wearing a pretty brief top that appeared to be made
of shells, pearls, and other small gems. The second, and more
overwhelming of the two, was that she had a golden mermaid's tail.

Gabrielle closed her eyes tightly, in the hopes that when she opened
them the tail would be gone. She cracked her eyes open. No, still
there. She tried to flex what should have been legs, and her tail
moved creating small waves. Gabrielle began to breathe deeply and
evenly in an attempt to stay calm.

As she did she remembered the events leading up to this strange
situation. She also remembered the `dream' she had. With the clarity
of being awake she realized the voice she heard was Poseidon, and
that the tingling sensation was his enchantment to make her a mermaid.

She thought rather hysterically, I'm a mermaid! She mentally slapped
herself, get it together! Okay, I'm a mermaid. That just means I can
swim out of here. I can find Xena, and she will get this fixed. The
mental conversation served to focus her. She immediately slid herself
further into the water. She began swimming in circles trying to test
out how her new tail worked.

It was actually pretty fun! She made herself head toward the exit
before she got caught up in experimenting. She was too late. As she
neared the exit all kinds of creatures started flooding in. Mermaids,
mermen, and all manner of sea creature, most of which she didn't
recognize. She recognized her `groom' though. He came up to her and
acted as though they hadn't seen each other in months. He wrapped his
rather brawny arms around her and attempted to kiss her.

She held him away as best she could and attempted to stall. "Wait a
minute here, big guy. I don't even know your name. Who are all these
people? What's going on here? I need some information." Gabrielle
told him earnestly.

He led her to the side. Out of the way of the people who kept pouring
in. He gave her a shy smile. "My name is Brighton. My father doesn't
like it but he promised mother she could name me."

Gabrielle assured him that she thought it was a very nice name.
Brighton gave her an extremely pleased smile and hugged her. "All of
these people are guests of our engagement party. It's going to be a
blast! All the Gods are going to be here. You'll love it!" he said
excitedly.

Gabrielle realized as she watched him that he had a huge crush on
her. He was basically still a boy with puppy love. He was shy and
sweet, and so spoiled by getting everything he wanted that he was
unlikely to let her go. It was unfortunate for her that he had very
indulgent parents.

Gabrielle decided to get as much information from her betrothed as
possible. "Brighton, how long did I sleep, and how did I get my tail?"

Brighton smiled brilliantly. "You slept for about three days. Father
had your tail grow while you were asleep. I hoped it would turn out
blue to match your eyes, but I'm glad it's gold. It matches mine.
It's only a temporary tail. It will be permanent when we get married."

Gabrielle decided to ask her most pressing question as nonchalantly
as possible. "So, when is the wedding going to be?"

"Didn't I tell you? We'll be married at the end of the engagement
party. Then we will go on our honeymoon as everyone else stays for
the party afterward." Brighton again leaned in to kiss her. This time
she let him, as she was too much in shock to stop him.



Xena awoke feeling completely renewed. As she sat up she realized she
must have slept clear through the afternoon and night because it was
dawn. She frowned. Gabrielle wouldn't have let her sleep out all
night, even if she did have two blankets over her.

"Gabrielle? Gabrielle where are you?" Xena called as she began to
walk along the beach in search of her friend. She had only been
walking for a few minutes when she came across a piece of cloth
partially in the waves. She knew, even before picking it up, what it
was.

Xena dropped to her knees as the realization swept over her. Her best
friend had drowned while she slept. Xena knelt there in shock for
over an hour. Not even realizing the tears coursing down her cheeks.
She eventually pulled herself together. She knew she had to let the
people who cared about Gabrielle know what had happened. She returned
to the cave to gather up their belongings. She nearly fell apart as
she packed away Gabrielle's scrolls.

When she had finished, she set out with Argo heading to Poteidaia.
She had been traveling only half a day when the fates stepped in. She
ran across Hercules and Iolaus as they traveled to meet friends in a
nearby town. Xena held herself together until she was in Hercules
arms. Only then did she allow herself the complete breakdown that she
had been heading for.

Hercules carried Xena as she sobbed into his chest. Iolaus led Argo
behind them. Not a word was spoken. None was needed.



Gabrielle was placed to the side of the cavern half on land half in
the water. Much like she had been when she had woken up. Only the
land half had all sorts of cushions arranged for people to lounge on
as they spoke with her. It seemed that everybody who came had to be
introduced. After several hours it seemed that almost everyone had
arrived, so Gabrielle was left alone for the most part. The party was
in full swing, and the gods seemed to be a tumultuous bunch.

Aphrodite made a late and fairly unnoticed arrival. Her usual bright
entrance was overlooked in the midst of all the other fantastic
entertainment.

"Hmmph! I'll just go introduce myself to the bride to be then."
Aphrodite said petulantly. Upset that she wasn't the life of the
party. She made her way daintily toward the long blond hair she could
see on the opposite side of the cavern.

Aphrodite noted the lovely golden tail as she sat down. "Hiya
sweetie, I'm Aphrodite." She was shocked when Gabrielle turned around.

"Aphrodite, you have to help me get out of here!" Gabrielle said
urgently in a low voice. Gabrielle continued explaining to Aphrodite
how she had gotten there.

"This isn't really my area you know. Rescues are more the warrior
department." Aphrodite responded.

"Then could you go tell Xena where I am? She can get me out of this."
Gabrielle asked her pleadingly.

Aphrodite looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not so sure Xena can.
I'll be right back though!" She disappeared in a flash of golden
sparks.

Gabrielle's hopes rose.


Aphrodite reappeared in Ares throne room. He looked to be busy
plotting battle strategies.

"Ares, you have to come to the party with me." Aphrodite said as
commandingly as she could. It wasn't very commanding.

"I don't have time to go to some stupid party. If I went to every
party Poseidon put on I would never get anything done." Ares said
irritably.

"This is different. This is an engagement party for his favorite son.
The bride is the important thing right now. Poseidon turned Gabrielle
into a mermaid so she could marry his son." Having finally captured
Ares attention Aphrodite continued, telling him the same story
Gabrielle had told her.

Ares finally agreed to come to the party. If only to get a coherent
explanation.



"Nice tail." Ares commented from behind Gabrielle's back. Gabrielle
quickly looked behind her and groaned.

"Aphrodite, I asked you to get Xena. Why did you bring him?"
Gabrielle asked while trying to hold on to her temper.

"Because I think Xena probably wouldn't be able to do anything this
time. Ares can think up a way to get you out of here and back to
Xena." Aphrodite said. She was proud of the plan she had come up
with. Up until Ares vetoed it moments later.

"I will go and tell Xena where you are. This way you will both owe
me." Ares said smugly as he disappeared.



Ares focused on Xena's presence and shifted to her location. He was
there only for a moment, when a fist came out of nowhere and knocked
him into the wall. He stood up to see who would dare to hit him.
Hercules stood at the ready.

"What did you do that for?" Ares asked angrily.

"That was for trying to get to Xena in her grief. I recommend you
leave now. I won't let you anywhere near her." Hercules promised with
an uncompromising look in his eyes.

"What do you mean, `in her grief'?" Ares demanded.

Hercules looked at him in disgust. "As if you didn't know that
Gabrielle is dead."

Ares looked surprised. "How did she die?"

Hercules narrowed his eyes but answered the question. "I don't know.
Xena hasn't been in any shape to tell us anything."

"Then you can't be sure she's dead can you?" Ares asked reasonably.

Hercules looked to become violent again. "Leave Ares. I won't have
you upsetting her."

"Fine, I'll just have to take care of things on my own." Ares said as
he left.



He appeared back at the party and settled himself on a cushion beside
Aphrodite. He shook his head. "No can do. Xena thinks your dead."

"Well tell her I'm alive then." Gabrielle said through gritted teeth.

"I can't get near her. Hercules is guarding her. Besides, she
probably wouldn't believe me anyway." Ares told her.

"Then send Aphrodite. Maybe they'll listen to her." Gabrielle
proposed rather desperately. She was running out of ideas. As nice as
Brighton seemed she didn't want to marry the poor boy.

"Now that I've thought it over, I have to agree with `Dite." Ares
said decisively.

"You do?" Came two surprised voices.

"Well, if you think about it. What can Xena do to rescue you? She may
be able to get the wedding called off, but you would still have the
tail. Do you think you can talk junior over there into calling off
the wedding?" Ares asked, already deep into planning various
scenarios.

"Are you kidding? He's a nice kid, but if I told him I didn't want to
marry him all he would think is that he had to win me over. He would
love that. It would fit in with the romantic fantasy world he's
living in." Gabrielle told him flatly.

"Okay, what can you tell us about the tail?" Ares continued his
questions, trying to find a way out of the situation.

"It's a temporary tail. I guess it's supposed to become permanent
when we get married." Gabrielle said uncertainly. "Why are you
helping me Ares? What do you get out of this?"

"I get the knowledge that both you and Xena owe me. " Ares said
smugly. At Gabrielle's disbelieving look he continued grudgingly.
"Not to mention you treated me and `Dite fairly when we were mortal.
You tried your best to get our powers back even though you could have
kept us mortal."

Gabrielle smiled at the admission. "Your welcome, and I kind of like
you too. Thank you for trying to help me." She said warmly.

"Well `Dite, what do you think? Should we get her out of here and try
and get this spell off her?" Ares asked with a laugh.

"Alright, now we're talking! I've got a nice big pool we can set her
in until we lift the spell." With those words Aphrodite faded out
taking Gabrielle with her.

Ares grinned. It was going to be fun pulling one over on his Uncle
Poseidon. He transported himself to Aphrodite's palace.

"Good, you're here. Let's get started." Aphrodite said. Her
businesslike manner was marred by the fact that she and Gabrielle
were relaxing in a bubble bath. Ares decided he might as well make
himself comfortable and join them.

"How will you get started? What are you planning to do?" Gabrielle
questioned uncertainly, the disaster with the scroll coming quite
clearly to her mind.

Ares saw her uncertainty and explained what they planned to do.
"'Dite and I will examine the spell on your legs. Most spells have a
lot of clauses and conditions that have to be met. We'll see what
those are and then decide how to get around them."

"That sounds… interesting." Gabrielle said cautiously.

"Don't worry this shouldn't hurt a bit." Aphrodite said.

Strangely, Gabrielle wasn't reassured. Ares and Aphrodite both placed
a hand on her face. She felt as if she was glowing from the heat that
spread through her body. When they sat back they both had frowns on
their faces and they shared a disturbed look.

Seeing this Gabrielle began to worry, and asked what they had found
out.

Ares answered her. "Well it seems our uncle is extremely thorough.
There was only one loophole that I could find, and that wasn't even a
complete loophole." Ares looked to Aphrodite for confirmation of what
he had found.

"It's true. Poseidon set up the spell to be transferred when you
married his son. The problem is that if you don't marry his son, he
is the only one who can take the spell off of you." Aphrodite said
sadly.

"You said there was a loophole. We know Poseidon won't take the spell
off. So what's the loophole?" Gabrielle asked with apprehension.

Ares took up where Aphrodite left off. "The loophole is that the
spell is already permanent, what transfers is who can take the spell
off. When you marry Brighton, he will have the ability to remove the
spell."

"How is that a loophole? I thought we already settled that I am not
going to marry him." Gabrielle demanded.

Ares and Aphrodite switched off again. "Sweetie, the loophole is that
the transfer isn't god specific. Any god you marry could take the
spell off of you."

Ares knew he had to be the one to offer the solution. He knew neither
of the other two would bring it up. "Yes you could marry me and I
would take the spell off. But it isn't that simple. Whenever a god
marries a mortal a bond is put in place. Normally when a god chooses
to marry a mortal they give them immortality first, negating the
bond. We wouldn't be able to do that with you. If we made you
immortal without the marriage, the spell would be permanent and no
one could take it off. If you marry me you will become immortal, and
you will be bound to me for that eternity."

"Ares are you really offering to marry me? You don't have to do this.
You can leave me to be married to Brighton. I will be an immortal
mermaid. Xena already thinks I'm dead, so you wouldn't have to
explain anything to her." Gabrielle told him, trying to offer him an
out.

"If you agree, yes I will marry you. You know, not everybody can
marry a god to a mortal. Fortunately we have `Dite in on this caper,
and she is one of the few who can." Ares tried to joke to lighten the
mood. He got a smile for his effort. "I'll let you think it through."
With that he left Gabrielle and Aphrodite to talk privately.

"'Dite, what would the bond between Ares and I be? He didn't mention
anything specific." Gabrielle decided she wouldn't make a decision
without all the information she could have.

"I don't really know. There have only been a few mortals that went
through the full ceremony to marry a god. Each time the bond was
different. If you chose to go through with it, you would have to see
what the bond would bring." Aphrodite said giving her all the
information she had.

"So basically I have two choices. I can stay a mermaid for eternity
and marry that sweet, shy, spoiled little boy. Or I can chose not to
remain a mermaid, and marry a god who is extremely smart with a
really foul temper, and who has occasionally shown a depth I didn't
know he was capable of." Gabrielle shook her head. "You know `Dite,
sometimes the Fates can play some really cruel jokes."

"'Dite, could you fetch Ares and give us some privacy?" Gabrielle
asked.

Ares returned to the room and sat on the side of the large bath.

"Why are you willing to do this? This is an extremely big thing you
are talking about doing. Bonded for eternity is a lot to ask of you.
I want to know why." Gabrielle told him seriously.

"Seriously? I like you. You don't just see me as the God of War. I'm
not really someone you see as an enemy either. Most warriors, and yes
I do see you as a warrior, see me as either someone to use or an
enemy. You see me, or at least try and see me. I don't know anyone
other than `Dite who has tried to do that. That earns you serious
points in my book." Ares told her sincerely.

"After the wedding what did you have in mind? You once said that a
mortal's life span was but a blink of a gods eyes. I'm not ready to
blink yet." Gabrielle told him candidly.

"After the ceremony you can go back to Xena. We will have eternity to
work things out." Ares accepted mildly.

"Call `Dite back in. I'm ready for this to happen." Gabrielle said
peacefully.

When everything was ready Gabrielle had one last concern. "This won't
get you into any trouble will it?"

Ares laughed. "Nothing we can't handle."

With that Aphrodite began the ceremony.

Several hours later Gabrielle was back to her normal form and on her
way to find Xena. The bond between Ares and Gabrielle turned out to
be rather strong. They could speak to each other's minds from
anywhere. As well as being completely aware of the other's emotions
at all times. The latter is what made it possible for Gabrielle to
continue her journey with Xena with both parties at peace with the
decision. They both knew they had eternity to work things out, and
the possibilities were endless.


And so it began.


The End