CHAPTER 2: THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
(A.K.A--the never-ending chapter from hell!)
The storm that was raging through both Xena's mind and in her heart almost threatened to overpower the warrior and drag her down into a pit of emotional blackness from which she may never recover. Xena knew full well that after that fierce display back there when she almost struck Gabrielle; she needed to regain control. Never in their time as traveling companions had Xena ever came anywhere near striking the young woman who had become the sole light in her dark world. Xena remembered back to the prayer she made to the gods one night that Gabrielle overheard when she thought she was sleeping and the thoughts kept on coming. If that light were ever extinguished.....I should have just talked to her, told her how I felt, she would have understood. I nearly STRUCK her, I...
Xena slowed Argo and reined the horse in and tied her to a tree just off the path. The warrior looked around her to take in some of her surroundings. The foliage of the forest was much denser here than what she and Gabrielle had experienced just moments ago. However, with the fight that she had just had with the one whom she would sell her soul for, those moments seemed like countless eons ago. The warrior's sky blue eyes continued scanning her surroundings and she made a note of the dense canopy of trees that towered above her and very nearly blocked the light of the sun. Xena could feel the sweat pasting the leather of her uniform to her body. She felt like she could peel the leather off of her like the skin of a ripe fruit and she dreamt of release. First things first, she thought, I need to clear my mind.
Xena looked around and the air was thick and full and steamy. The warrior moved into the foliage that seemed to grab at her like a million fingers, pulling on her. It only served to aggravate her even more.
Gabrielle was puffing heavily as she ran after Xena. She was doing her best to keep up with the warrior, but Xena had long ago outstripped her. Gabrielle was panting very hard and then caught her side as a sharp pain shot through her. Oh great!, she thought, Running cramps! Gabrielle doubled over in pain as a second wave washed over her as well as a wave of nausea. The sensation brought Gabrielle crashing down on her knees and gagging violently. Waves of blonde hair spilled over her shoulders and in that instant, she longed for Xena's skills in relieving sickness. It's most likely heat induced, she thought, No wonder I got ill. The bard's thoughts traveled to her companion and immediately felt better for it. Warm stirrings of emotion filled Gabrielle's heart as she thought back to times in the past where Xena had nursed her back to health. Oddly, Gabrielle found herself calming down and even relaxing. She thought of the sensitivity of Xena's warrior's touch, the nearness of her leather-scented body, the world of love in the warrior's eyes.....Come on, Gabrielle! Wake up! The bard closed her eyes and shook her head side to side to clear the cobwebs from her brain. It's the heat, she thought, gotta be the heat. Gabrielle's head had stopped swimming and slowly, if a little shakily, the bard lifted herself up on unsure legs using her staff as support. She took a deep breath and casually brushed her hair back out of her eyes and continued down the path after Xena at a slow trot.
Xena had moved into the dense forest foliage and amidst the deep jades and
emeralds of the forest had found a nice little clearing of roughly seven and a half to eight feet in diameter. Xena could tell that the site must have been used at one time or another as a campsite and there was evidence that the site had been recently used. There were the remains of a fire with several burned sticks and kindling surrounded by a circle of stones beyond which the ground had been cleared of all flammable materials. Xena bent down to examine the fire and noted that whoever had last been here had long since moved on. The warrior's trained senses detected no other unusual sounds or odors in the air or anything else out of the ordinary. Xena also noted that the air here in this glade was noticeably cooler, but the humidity was still causing her to sweat profusely and she could feel the sweat running over the contours of her body: down her back and around the soft curves of her breasts. The Warrior Princess decided that this place would be as good a place as any to stop and meditate and suddenly she was in another place. Xena swung around on Gabrielle angrily, instinctively moving to attack. She saw Gabrielle throw up her hands to defend herself and heard the bard cry out her name...
Xena knew she had lost control and needed to regain her focus. The Warrior
Princess positioned herself, planting her feet flat and positioning her hands before her. She closed her eyes and began to meditate.
* * * * *
In a small one man camp site far away from where Xena was meditating, a dark haired man was roused from his sleep by rolling over face first into the still smouldering embers of his campfire.
"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!!!", the man screamed in pain. He rolled over out of the embers of the fire, over his bed roll and ended up impaling his left buttock on his dagger. Again the man howled in agony. He pulled the tip of the dagger out of his buttock and stood and immediately brained himself on a low hanging branch. A plethora of multi-colored stars swam in his sight. He stood to his full height, shook the black dust from his sooty face, took one step forward, and then promptly collapsed into an unconscious heap on the forest floor.
* * * * *
Gabrielle had noticed the increasing density of the forest and how the air did seem to be somewhat cooler here; however, it did precious little to help stop the sweat from running down her back. She felt the sweat sliding between her shoulder blades under her green halter top and she was dying to cool herself off in the nearest brook she happened upon. Gabrielle rested her head on the cool wood of her staff and closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift through visions of sparkling cool blue water. The bard could almost feel the luscious cool water lick her nude body in almost erotic ways. A smiled played across her soft pink lips and that's when, in her mind's eye, she saw her. Gabrielle saw the lithe form of the Warrior Princess's nude body which was bathed in a golden glow--backlit by the sunlight of the afternoon. The bard carefully took in every detail that came pouring forth out of her memory. Everything was perfectly clear to Gabrielle; every detail. She could see it all; the muscled form, the bronzed skin, the firm breasts, the nipples that were erect as a result of the icy cold water, the dark patch of hair that fanned out from just inches below Xena's navel. It was then that Gabrielle's thoughts of her friend soured and turned hideous and dark and again anger and fear gripped her soul and the scene from earlier in the day replayed itself over in her mind. A little voice in the back of Gabrielle's mind started berating the bard for her seemingly stupid sentimentality. After all, she thought, isn't this woman, this warrior, the very same woman who very nearly incapacitated me when she made to attack me? A feeling of rage such as Gabrielle had never known welled up inside her and for a moment, Gabrielle gripped her staff so hard that her knuckles turned white with the strain. A low rumble started up from the pit of Gabrielle's gut and forced its way through her until it burst forth from her lips in a blood-curdling scream of intense hurt and rage and the young woman collapsed as hot, stinging tears forced their way out from beneath clenched shut eyelids. Great wracking sobs shook Gabrielle's body and she fell to her knees and pounded the earth with her fists until her wrists ached. Xena had almost hit her! Why should she go and talk to the warrior when it was all her fault anyway? Gabrielle rolled over on her back as the crying subsided and decided that, as she had once forgiven Callisto, who had murdered her husband Perdicas in cold blood, that she could forgive her best friend. The bard stood up and, wiping the tears from her eyes, set forth after the Warrior Princess.
Xena's storm ravaged soul had, for the time being, found a kind of peace and her meditation exercises had returned to her the trained calm of the warrior. Right now she could not allow thoughts of her bard to cross her mind. She needed to be clear and level headed when the two got back together and it wouldn't do for them to be at each other's throats. Xena finished her mental training exercises and decided to practice her attack maneuvers and hone her already excellent battle skills. Xena positioned herself square in the center of the clearing and unsheathed her sword from its leather scabbard. The Warrior Princess was in her element practicing her thrusts and blocks and parries. All of Xena's concentration was directed into her practice and so she failed to notice the young bard approach through the woods. Xena immediately caught sight of Gabrielle and instantly halted her exercises.
Xena could tell that Gabrielle had been crying due to the red circles under her eyes and she also looked like she had gone for a tumble in the undergrowth of the forest. She also noted that there were some twigs and leaves in her hair and immediately the warrior was unsure of what to say or do so she did what came easiest and most natural to her; she hid her concern behind a blank, unreadable mask. Gabrielle tried to read her friend's face for any sign or hint of emotion but the warrior's face betrayed none whatsoever, and beneath Gabrielle's exterior she was both scared and angered at the same time and so there she and Xena stood squared off and neither willing to initiate the verbal confrontation that remained between them.
* * * * *
"Joxer!!" roared Ares, "That simple minded idiot!?"
"Yes!" laughed Strife.
"Strife, that idiot Joxer couldn't fight his way out of an open paper sack with a clearly marked exit!" Ares growled.
"But uncle, that's the whole beauty of it! We set the fool up as the fall guy for the whole scheme. Joxer sets Callisto and Velasca free and Xena, when she finds out, kills him for his ultimate stupidity. Then, the Warrior Princess starts back down the path to make her yours again. If not, you can always allow Callisto and Velasca to hound Xena and the blonde for the rest of eternity."
Ares seemed to consider what Strife was saying, running muscled fingers over his goatee, a nagging question tugging at his thoughts from the back of his mind. "Well, Strife, I like the plan, really I do, but you seem to have forgotten one very important detail. Callisto and Velasca are both goddesses and it ain't as if we can just walk up to them and tell them what to do. No, what we need is a sure fire way to control them and use their powers to our own ends. So, nephew, any ideas?"
"Sorry, uncle, I'm drawing a complete blank."
"Hmmm."
"Maybe the Fates will smile on us perhaps?"
"Somehow Strife, I knew you'd say that."
The two gods had no clue.
