Disclaimers:
This story is categorized as fan fiction. The characters of Xena, 
Gabrielle, et al, which have appeared in the series Xena: Warrior 
Princess, belong to the producers, writers and executives of 
Renaissance Pictures and MCA/Universal Television. I claim only 
to have borrowed them, without intent to profit or infringe these 
rights, for the purpose of creating this story for enjoyment of 
the series' fans, of which I count myself one of many.

Timeline Notes:
This story takes place after the end of the episode "Destiny."
Gabrielle attempts to fulfill her promise to Xena. This is a
companion story to "Underworld Adventure".

Gabrielle's Choice
by LZClotho
(c) December 1997

CHAPTER ONE

The muscles in Gabrielle's face were stiff. As she tried to move 
her head to look up at Xena's face, a pain announced itself in 
her back.

Strong arms wrapped around Gabrielle under her arms and pulled 
her to her feet. The bard turned her head, wincing, to see 
Nicklio, a grim line to his mouth, studying her.

"Come with me," he said. His voice was gentle, but Gabrielle 
sensed he would drag her with him if she refused. So she took her 
hands slowly from Xena's body and followed Nicklio to a nearby 
table. "Sit. You need to eat," he said.

"But --"

"You haven't eaten since you arrived. The time is past. You must 
eat."

"I have to go. I'm supposed to take Xena home."

Nicklio slapped a plate down in front of Gabrielle. She jumped 
and looked up, meeting his gaze. "You'll go, but not until you've 
eaten, healed sufficiently and I've prepared Xena's body for 
travel."

Gabrielle couldn't tear her eyes from Nicklio's weather-beaten 
face. Tears glistened anew in her eyes, but refused to fall. She 
said nothing, only finally she bit her lip to stop its trembling 
and pulled her eyes away.

Nicklio straightened and Gabrielle watched as he crossed the room 
and spooned thick stew from a pot over the hearth. She followed 
him with her eyes as he returned to her. His path took his past 
Xena's form still lying on the table and Gabrielle's heart 
plummeted to her feet.

Numb, and wiping at tears, Gabrielle took the platter and set it 
down. Nicklio stared hard, his face growing sterner, so she 
picked up the spoon.

Her body recognized the food and though her mind was blank, she 
did find herself eating the stew quickly. A portion of the 
emptiness she felt was filled by the warm meat and thick broth.

The other part, Gabrielle knew looking over at Xena's still body, 
would never be filled again. She cleared her own platter to 
Nicklio's kitchen bucket. Then she walked slowly to where Xena 
lay. Nicklio, when she glanced up at him, only nodded.

"What's next?" the bard asked the healer.

"We'll bathe her. Then pour a mixture of oils over her skin to 
slow... things... down a bit." Gabrielle only nodded, ignoring 
his hesitation to speak frankly. She'd be traveling with a corpse 
for several weeks. "It's necessary then to build a travois for 
the horse so you can take the sarcophagus more quickly."

"I promised I'd take her to Amphipolis," Gabrielle said, 
remembering the other time she'd begun thinking of the journey, 
when Xena had been struck by Callisto's poison dart and nearly 
died. She'd even lost every appearance of life for several hours. 
Gabrielle swallowed. She'd thought Xena miraculous when she 
sprang to life before Argo and one of Talmadeus' horses were 
ordered to tear her body apart. "How long will all this take? 
I'll help."

"I can build the travois and send for the sarcophagus. If you'll 
do the bathing and the oils." She nodded tightly. "All right," 
Nicklio went on. "Give her the bath tonight. You can begin the 
oils in the morning." He indicated a pallet against the wall. 
"You will sleep there. I'll take the back room."

Gabrielle met his eyes. "Thank you, Nicklio."

He said nothing, only shook his head as he left her alone.

Gabrielle found a basin, filled it with water and heated it on 
the hearth. She found cloths in a small chest and searched Argo's 
saddlebag for soap.

She was sure Nicklio had soap, but Gabrielle wanted to bathe Xena 
with the scented bar she'd been keeping to give the warrior for 
Solstice.

"I can't wait until Solstice," she said, looking at the warrior's 
still face. "So here's your present now." She kissed Xena's cheek 
and then slowly soaped the cloth. Gently she applied the lather.

Absurdly she avoided Xena's closed eyes and fretted when water 
from the rinse dripped in the warrior's ears. "You always hated 
getting an earful," she half-smiled as she patted Xena's face 
dry. She paused, the towel resting against Xena's neck, and her 
voice was thick with tears as she lamented softly, "No... Xena... 
Why?" Then she cried into the warrior's hair.

Taking a deep breath, Gabrielle inhaled the odd scent that was 
uniquely Xena, a mix of leather, lye soap, and sharpening stone 
oil. She straightened, soaping the cloth again and rubbing the 
lather onto Xena's shoulders and arms. It was so strange, so 
unsettling to feel no resistance, none of Xena's coiled negligent 
strength pushed back as Gabrielle lifted first one arm then the 
other, stroking each gently with the cloth. Instead of pouring 
water to rinse, this time Gabrielle squeezed out the cloth, 
removing the soap before wetting it and running the cloth over 
Xena's skin.

She came to the warrior's hands. So unusual, she realized, 
studying the blunted fingernails and the soft palms. Despite all 
the work, aside from thick calluses where the pommel of her sword 
rubbed, and her fingertips when she'd occasioned to pull a 
bowstring, Xena's hands were soft, smooth. Gabrielle found 
herself sitting for just a while, tenderly holding the still 
hand, interlacing her own fingers with the warrior's. She tried 
to find a memory, a moment when she saw the warrior using the 
common plant oils to soften her hands. She could not; she smiled 
into the warrior's still face biting her lip. "Just another one 
of your many skills, Xena?" She nodded and patted the cool hand.

The action renewed her strength. She would get through this. Xena 
would go home to Amphipolis, to the peace she deserved. Gabrielle 
stood and removed Xena's leathers and boots. More in mind of her 
task now than before, Gabrielle washed the warrior's body, 
removing dried sweat and some dirt from the warrior's torso. She 
fought against the absurd willing to see Xena breathe. Nicklio 
said she was gone. It was over. That chest would never rise and 
fall again. She stroked the cloth down Xena's abdomen.

The warrior had once commented on Gabrielle's washboard tight 
stomach, but Gabrielle had replied simply, "I walk everywhere." 
Xena too had a tightly muscled waist. As Gabrielle drew the soapy 
cloth over the muscle outlines she paused at a spot Xena had 
asked her to avoid when they took turns washing each other's 
backs while bathing.

"I'm ticklish," the warrior had admitted sheepishly. It was just 
under her left bottom-most rib, and slightly to the side. 
Gabrielle had later brushed the spot by accident. Xena collapsed 
at the knees, nearly drowning in the small spring where they had 
chosen to bathe.

"Oh, gods, I'm sorry, Xena!" Gabrielle struggled to pull Xena to 
her feet.

"No problem, Gabrielle. Just do better." Xena had laughed, rare 
for her. She then chucked the bard under the chin and splashed 
water in Gabrielle's face.

Now, Gabrielle stroked over the spot and there was no reaction, 
no frantic leap, no laughter. And she cried again.

 

Nicklio awakened her later. Gabrielle didn't know how long she 
had cried or when or how long she had slept. A candle in the room 
had been lit but she didn't know how long it had been burning.

"Do you want me to finish?" Nicklio asked.

Gabrielle shook her head and wiped her face with the cloth. 
Nicklio left her and she returned to her task. She started 
talking to Xena as she finished washing her body.

"I would love to know the story behind him, Xena. Nicklio, I 
mean. How'd you meet him? Did he teach you any of your healing 
skills? Some of the ones you taught me?" She soaped the cloth 
again and moved to the warrior's legs.

"Did he save your life once before? Back when you were a warlord, 
I mean. Or did you come here for instruction once upon a time?" 
Gabrielle rinsed out the cloth and removed the soap she'd 
applied. She looked at Xena's legs and recalled all the days as 
she walked beside Argo, when Xena's leg would be next to her 
head. Then she remembered seeing those legs launch the warrior 
into high arcs or tight rolls as she flipped her way through a 
battle. Gabrielle closed her eyes easily remembering every nuance 
of Xena's last fight.

Xena landed atop the ritual fire, staring down at the stunned 
Children of the Sun who had been busy asking their gods for a 
sign.

"Goddess, give us a sign," cried their leader.

"I got nothing but bad news for ya," replied Xena, leaping to the 
ground and spinning her way through the assemblage. With a flick 
of her wrist, the warrior released her chakram. Gabrielle tracked 
it only a brief moment before she felt the pressure release on 
her wrists as the sharp disc sliced through the ropes binding her 
and the others.

"Run!" Gabrielle yelled. She turned at Xena's voice and caught 
the staff, using it to hit a pursuer so she and the other 
villagers could get away.

Then, as they ran along the road, Gabrielle trying to keep 
everyone together she called a halt as she heard someone coming 
through the brush nearby. "Stop. I think I hear Xena."

And she remembered such relief seeing Xena's cocky smile. The one 
that said I took care of everything. But she hadn't. Gabrielle's 
mind fell back and remembered the sudden appearance of the Sun 
children's leader. Xena seemed supremely confident, and indeed, 
Gabrielle remembered thinking everything was well in hand. Then 
she turned as she was leading away the other villagers and saw 
the girl dash out of hiding.

Xena watched the girl and then turned to grab her, Gabrielle 
thought. Taking her eyes from her opponent had been a mistake. 
Gabrielle saw him leap at something.

Then her whole vision was filled with a tree flying through the 
air.

"Run!" Xena had yelled to the little girl. And the two of them 
had begun running. Xena at the last moment though pushed the girl 
off the path, where she rolled into the bushes.

But before the warrior could also leap out of the way, the log 
slammed into her, throwing her through the air. There was a loud 
thump, sickening in the sudden silence, as Xena's body crumpled 
into a thick tree. Nothing gave, and Gabrielle's heart leapt into 
her throat as she crossed the distance to help Xena up. But the 
sight when she got near so shook her, she barely registered the 
stabbing pain in her thigh where the Children of the Sun's leader 
thrust a dagger. All she could do was crawl to Xena, and listen 
as the warrior breathily called her name. Then she touched her 
cheek.

Gabrielle looked down at her hands and then to Xena's face. The 
blood was gone, but the damage had been done. Xena was dead. 
She'd died doing everything right, everything noble. Just like 
she'd hoped. "I hope you got the Elysian Fields, Xena. You do 
deserve it, even if you never thought so." Gabrielle caressed 
Xena's cheek exactly as she had when she'd first gone to the 
warrior lying limp against the tree. No blood stained her hands 
now. Gods, how she missed it. Back then she'd been scared, yes, 
but somehow while Xena still talked, still murmured, still 
breathed, Gabrielle had felt this underlying assurance that 
everything was going to be fine.

And now, nothing could be further from the truth.

"What am I going to do now, Xena?" She sniffled against her hand 
and rubbed away the tears welling in her eyes. "Where do I go 
from here?"

Nicklio came in again. Gabrielle pulled a blanket over Xena's 
body and he smiled at her. "I finished," she said simply.

"Now we need to put the oil on her skin," he reminded her. "I'll 
do it while you sleep." He took the cloth from Gabrielle's hands 
and indicated the pallet with a stern nod of his head.

Defeated even before she could contemplate protesting, and too 
drained to actually argue, Gabrielle crossed the room and fell to 
the pallet. She was instantly asleep.

 

The sound of visitors knocking at Nicklio's door awakened 
Gabrielle. She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Two big men 
stepped inside, hefting a large box between them, Xena's 
sarcophagus. Gabrielle smiled.

In pained silence she watched as they lifted the warrior's body 
from the table. Nicklio had spent the rest of the night oiling 
the long woman's body and had also cleaned up her leathers. 
Redressed for her final journey, Xena was lowered into the 
sarcophagus and the lid was pulled over and dropped into place. 
Gabrielle stood, thanked the men and pulled out her coin pouch to 
pay them.

They waved it away. "No, we did this for the warrior woman. May 
the Gods go with you."

Gabrielle nodded, replacing the dinars in her pouch. She turned 
to see Nicklio entering the room.

"You are looking better," he commented.

She nodded.

"I have her armor here. What do you want done with it?"

Gabrielle looked at the forearm bracers and the breastplate and 
sighed. "I'll take them with me."

"All right." Nicklio and Gabrielle stepped back as the two men 
lifted the sarcophagus and walked outside. Healer and Bard 
followed.

Argo stood patiently between two poles braced over her saddle 
with a wooden yoke. At the end of the poles was a long flat 
platform with skids underneath for the snow. The two men lowered 
the sarcophagus and tied it down.

Nicklio pulled Gabrielle into her heavy cloak, tugging the hood 
close around her face. He held her fast a moment and whispered, 
"You will find your way home, little one."

Gabrielle looked up into his face with surprise. "Nicklio, thank 
you."

He only nodded.

Gabrielle moved to Argo's head and took up the lead rope. "Come 
on, girl. Let's take Xena home." Snow crunched under her boots as 
Gabrielle stepped out. When Argo started moving, Gabrielle looked 
over her shoulder to see the travois lurch forward, in sudden 
tandem with her heart.

She caught sight beyond it of the three men still watching her 
go. She raised her hand slightly, then dropped her arm and turned 
away. She focused on the path down off the mountain.

 

CHAPTER TWO

Gabrielle made it halfway off the mountain by dusk that first 
day. She found a small clearing and unhitched Argo from the 
travois. She draped a blanket over the horse's neck and fixed up 
a small portion of oats.

"That'll hold you until I can find some grasses beneath the 
snow," she told the mare, stroking her muzzle. Gabrielle then 
hunkered down and brushed aside a section of the snow. Finally 
she found some pale green shoots. Clearing the space in a wider 
circle, she left Argo to her meager dinner.

And found herself turning around to ask Xena what she was going 
to hunt for their meal. Instead her eyes fell on the sarcophagus 
and tears immediately clogged her throat.

"Damn you, Xena," Gabrielle whispered fiercely. Then she cried 
for having such mean thoughts. She moved to run her hand over the 
lid of the sarcophagus as a form of apology. "I'm sorry, Xena. 
I'm sorry. I'm scared. You were so good at making me not feel 
scared. Did you know that?" She smiled imagining the warrior's 
shrug and deflecting turn of her head. "You were the best friend 
I ever had. Better than Lila even. She understood me I think, but 
not the way you do." Gabrielle fell silent remembering her 
goodbye to Lila two years ago in the dark of night, in their room 
before she'd left to track down Xena.

"Where are you going?" Lila asked, blinking in the darkness of 
their room.

"Sh. Lila, I'm leaving. I'm going to join up with Xena," 
Gabrielle said, crossing back to her sister's bed.

And Lila laughed. "Gabrielle, you can't be a warrior. I can beat 
you up."

"You're strong for your age," Gabrielle responded quickly.

"I'll miss you," said Lila.

"I'll miss you too." Gabrielle sighed. "Take care of mother for 
me. Don't let her carry the water back from the well alone."

Lila had nodded and Gabrielle had left, her heart as heavy as the 
door suddenly seemed as she pushed into the night.

Gabrielle sighed. She'd left Poteidaia, she'd thought, for the 
last time. But she'd gone back. Reluctantly she'd left Xena when 
she froze unexpectedly during a fight. Xena, as a result, had 
almost been hit by a runaway cart -- so had Gabrielle.

Gabrielle ignored the fact she'd been in danger too. The only 
thought she had, as she told Xena she had to go, had been Xena 
almost died. And Gabrielle could never let that happen. So it was 
best to remove herself rather than risk Xena dying because of her 
stupidity.

She spoke to the sarcophagus again. "I know I never told you. But 
did you know anyway? Did you know I came back, not because I'd 
gained confidence, but because I knew I didn't fit in at home 
anymore?" She ran her fingers over the carving. "In only few 
short moons, Xena, you had become my home. Nothing else seemed to 
make any sense any more."

In the nearby trees an owl hooted sharply, making Gabrielle jump. 
She smiled suddenly imagining she heard Xena's deep chuckle and 
reassuring voice remind her, "It's just an owl, Gabrielle."

"I'd better get some sleep," Gabrielle said lightly. "We have to 
make good time tomorrow."

Getting up from beside the sarcophagus, Gabrielle retrieved the 
saddlebags and her blankets. Laying out one, she set the 
saddlebags under her head and pulled the other blanket over her 
body.

Something in the saddlebags was uncomfortable so she opened the 
bag to rearrange the contents, and pulled out Xena's forearm 
bracers.

Curling up with her memories, Gabrielle closed her eyes. Her last 
sight was filled with the dark silhouette of Xena's sarcophagus.

Gabrielle awakened several times during the night, every noise 
making her jump. Each time she checked the sarcophagus. Relief 
mixed with the thickening lump in her stomach when she saw it was 
still there.

When daylight finally came, Gabrielle rose and cleared camp, 
rubbed Argo down and reattached the travois. She gave Argo 
another handful of oats, promising her a lunch break and started 
out once again. She led Argo down the mountain, leaning on her 
staff.

At lunch break, now off the mountain in warmer weather, Gabrielle 
nibbled on a trailstick, and the mare grazed at a riverbank while 
she fished. She could dry some fish strips to keep her for 
several days since she didn't hunt. Xena had always taken care of 
that.

From her place in the river, Gabrielle looked over at the bank 
and reassured herself the sarcophagus remained unmolested. Gods, 
she thought, finally thinking herself absurd. Who'd take a body?

"Can you believe that, Xena? I've got enough to worry about just 
traveling alone. But I worry about some imagined wacko trying to 
steal you." Gabrielle laughed emptily and returned to her 
fishing.

She concentrated deeply as Xena had taught her. In a trice she 
had caught a perch. Then, surprise, she found an eel squirming in 
her grip. She couldn't keep hold against the slippery writhing 
thing and it escaped, but the moment had happened.

"I almost had him, Xena!" She exclaimed wading to the bank. "Bet 
even you'd have trouble hanging on to that!" Oh gods, she 
thought, as she began crying again. Even a funny moment makes me 
cry. She stripped the fish and laid the pieces over Argo's saddle 
to dry.

Gabrielle dressed quickly and returned to the road. She began to 
think ahead to her next options. After settling Xena with her 
family, she'd only be a day or two from Poteidaia. She at least 
ought to visit, she told herself. Mother will beg me to stay. 
What will you say, Gabrielle? 

Could she make a new niche for herself? She didn't have Perdicas. 
Her mother would play Cupid with every single male still living 
in the village. Could she stand it? Would she find someone to 
love and settle down?

"Where would my stories come from?" she asked aloud. "I'd run out 
of stories about Xena's and my adventures. I can't retell the 
same stories all the time." She sighed. "Xena, why didn't we have 
more time?"

Gabrielle cycled through several days and nights crossing Greece, 
every day closer to Amphipolis. She slept only sporadically, ate 
even less, and woke from nightmares feeling more alone each time. 
She sought company on the fifth day.

 

CHAPTER THREE

Using the last of her dinars, she secured a stable for Argo and a 
promise from a stableboy to guard the sarcophagus. He commented 
on the scrollwork and asked, "Who is it?"

"My best friend," Gabrielle replied.

"Does the warrior have a name?"

"How'd you know she was a warrior?"

"Who else would have a shield welded to their burial box?" He ran 
a hand over the selfsame scrollwork. "Well? Does she have a 
name?"

Gabrielle thought about how to answer. No harm, she decided, in 
the truth. "Xena."

The boy nodded. "Okay. An amazon, huh? Cool."

"No, Xena wasn't an Amazon."

"A woman warrior who wasn't an Amazon? Now that's wild."

Gabrielle sat forward on the bale of hay where she sat. "She was 
Xena, the Warrior Princess," Gabrielle explained.

"That's the Warrior Princess? Destroyer of Nations?"

Gabrielle hung her head. Me and my big mouth. "She wasn't like 
that. Not anymore."

"So, who got the point?"

"Huh?" Gabrielle wanted desperately to leave but ever fiber of 
her body demanded she stay to clear up this boy's misconceptions.

"Who killed the Warrior Princess?"

"She was hit by a tree while saving a little girl."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"No warrior should go out like that. It's a letdown."

Gabrielle sighed. She shook her head too stunned to add anything 
more.

The stableboy settled to the straw. "I'll watch her. You don't 
worry about anything."

Gabrielle left the stable and headed for the inn. She'd tell a 
few stories, earn a few dinars, and return to the stable to 
sleep. When she'd bargained with the innkeeper for her price: a 
hot meal tonght, and one in the morning, a percentage of the 
night's take, and a new saddle blanket for Argo, Gabrielle 
ascended the performance step.

She looked out on the sea of face. And felt fear grip her 
stomach. She looked around, searching the staring eyes for the 
warmth she'd always found across the campfire so many nights.

Xena had been bemused by Gabrielle's talent at first. After 
meeting Gabrielle on the road from Athens Academy, Xena had 
started requesting stories.

Gabrielle shook herself. That was neither here not there, she 
thought, and began. She started at the beginning, so to speak, 
when Xena had appeared, an avenging angel, outside Poteidaia. She 
had rescued her and her neighbors and friends from slavers. In 
the process, Gabrielle realized as she told the story, Xena had 
liberated a young woman's heart to seek her dreams.

She concluded her tale with the scaffold fight where Xena 
challenged Draco, in order to get him to agree to stay out of 
Amphipolis forever.

As Gabrielle told how Xena declined her own kinsmen's offer of 
the loot wagons they had assembled to pay off Draco, the crowd at 
the inn erupted in cheers, whistles and clapping echoed off the 
walls.

Gabrielle's hero was now theirs. The bard acknowledged the 
praise, and started to get down when a soft-faced man approached 
her.

"You tell a beautiful story," he remarked. "Where is Xena? 
Probably with her horse, right? A bit shy about stories of 
herself, hmm?"

"I'm sorry. Did you -- " Then Gabrielle looked up. Something 
familiar tickled her about his face. "Darius?" She ventured, 
dimly recalling the father of three who Xena had helped to free 
from Sphaerus and his warlord father over a year ago.

"Yes?"

Gabrielle swallowed. "I can't have made it that far already... " 
She looked up again. "Is Sphaerus here?"

"Yes, he is. How did you remember?"

"I thought he was my tree in the forest once."

"Huh?"

"Private comment."

Darius shrugged. "Okay. So, where's Xena?"

Gabrielle walked to her table where her meal had been laid out. 
Darius followed. He sat down across from her. "I'm sorry to tell 
you this," Gabrielle started slowly. "But Xena was injured 
helping some villagers up north near Cirra, and, well, she died 
at the healer's."

Darius sat back. "No, it's not possible. She was incredible. 
Strongest person I ever met, outside... and inside."

"She was," Gabrielle replied. "I learned a lot from her. Only 
wish it had been more though." Her voice fell to a whisper.

"Would you like to stay here for a few days? Get your bearings?"

"No, I can't. I'm taking Xena's body to Amphipolis to bury her 
next to her brother."

"Can I... see her?" Darius asked.

"Um, well... " Gabrielle met earnest brown eyes and then sighed. 
"I'm going out to the stable after I finish her. Meet me when the 
moon is high?" Darius nodded. "You're the first person I've 
shared her with since leaving Mount Nestos," she admitted 
quietly.

 

Gabrielle finished her meal and Darius remained in the audience, 
a commiserating face, while Gabrielle related her second tale of 
the evening. She chose the story of how Xena and Hercules freed 
Prometheus.

"Xena didn't want Hercules to die when the sword struck 
Prometheus' chains and Hercules didn't want Xena to die either, 
so they argued. She tried to steal the sword... twice. But 
through teamwork they had finally managed it and Prometheus' 
gifts were returned to Man," she finished with a flourish.

Again, cheers, whistles and clapping filled the small room. 
Gabrielle nodded and stepped down passing through the crowd to 
the innkeeper. Several patrons pressed coin into her hands. When 
she got to the innkeeper he handed over a small sack of coins. 
"This should keep you flush until the next town," he said warmly. 
"Come back someday?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "I don't think so, but it's nice to 
know I'm welcome."

Darius was waiting for her outside as she emerged to go to the 
stable. "So Sphaerus isn't your tree in the forest. It's this 
Iolaus fellow?"

"Oh. No," Gabrielle paused. "I don't think I have one. Iolaus is 
a good friend. So is Hercules. But Xena and I travel so much... " 
Her voice trailed off as she drew near the stable.

Entering she listened to all the muted sounds of sleeping animals 
and made her way to the back stall. Inside, Argo was quietly 
chewing some feed. The stableboy was asleep, leaning back against 
the sarcophagus. He awakened when she undid the gate latch.

"Good reflexes," she praised. "Thank you." She gave him a pair of 
dinars and he left her and Darius alone. Gabrielle stepped out of 
Darius' line of sight.

He stepped forward once and stopped. He lifted a hand toward the 
sarcophagus then to his mouth before dropping it. He took his 
other hand and rubbed it over his features. "By the gods," he 
murmured.

"I'm sorry, Darius."

"No, no. I'm sorry. Please. Tell me how it happened?" Darius and 
Gabrielle sank to the straw and in the silence of the night the 
bard tried to voice the tale. She could not manage it without 
tears and finally gave up. She said only, "It shouldn't have 
happened at all, Darius. She just gave up!" Gabrielle was caught 
between choking tears and anger as Darius enfolded her in his 
arms and she cried body-wracking sobs. When she cried herself 
out, she slept.

 

"Gabrielle? Gabrielle?"

"Xena?"

"No."

Gabrielle opened her eyes and found Darius crouched over her. 
Something smelled really good right below her nose and she looked 
down to see hot grain mash with apple chunks in the bowl Darius 
was holding. "For me?"

"For you. I thought you could use something filling. You're 
almost skin and bones."

"But I ate last night," she protested, taking the bowl anyway.

"And that was your first meal in how long?"

Gabrielle thought a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I don't think 
about it much any more." She looked over at the sarcophagus. "I 
just want to get Xena home quickly."

"Then what's next for you?"

Gabrielle cocked her head. "I don't know. Amphipolis is close to 
where I grew up."

"Do I hear a 'but' in there? "

The bard nodded slowly. "But I don't think I'll fit in any more."

"Anyplace else you can go?" He gestured. "If not, there's always 
here."

"I could go to the Amazons, I suppose."

"Why there?"

"Well, I'm sort of an adopted member of the family," she admitted 
sheepishly, swallowing a spoonful of the mash. Darius looked 
incredulous.

Gabrielle shrugged. "Even if I can't be a warrior, maybe they 
will... No." She shook herself. "I can't think of anything until 
I get Xena home."

"Do you want an escort?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "It's better if I travel alone. I'm not 
good company right now."

Darius patted her shoulder. "You're fine company. It'll take 
time, but you'll get used to it."

Gabrielle frowned. "But I don't want to get used to it. I miss 
her."

Darius shook his head, patted her shoulder again, and left her 
alone. The bard finished her mash, and returned the bowl to the 
inn. After grooming Argo and giving her an apple, Gabrielle 
hitched up the travois and left town. She turned west on the 
road.

Amphipolis was only five more days due west... on the other side 
of Amazon territory.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

That night, the rain drove Gabrielle and Argo to seek shelter in 
a cave. Everything would be soaked by morning.

The crash of lightning outside the cave and the pounding rain 
echoed Gabrielle's dream, tearing the bard from sleep as she 
envisioned Xena's body crumpled against that tree. Shocked awake 
she bolted upright and shivered. No! her mind screamed. She 
glanced over at the sarcophagus. She pushed off her blanket and 
crossed the cave floor on her knees, falling against the carvings 
with a whimper. "Xena --" she murmured. "Every night I see it 
happen. Every morning I awake and I wish it was a dream." She 
cried against the wood, running her hands over the scrollwork and 
the bronze shield affixed to the lid. "Xena..." She laid her head 
down and cried.

Gabrielle awakened again just as full dark was falling. She had 
cried through the entire day. Now it was too late to get moving. 
Damn, Gabrielle thought. Xena, you left me. I hate you for doing 
that.

Gabrielle put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Xena. I didn't 
mean it. But, I'm scared. I... I've never been this alone before.

"Gods, I am crazy! I'm talking to a sarcophagus." Gabrielle 
checked on Argo and curled up again, crying herself back to 
sleep.

In the morning, she'd make the final leg of her journey to 
Amphipolis. Then she'd have some decisions to make.

 

Gabrielle walked along holding Argo's lead tightly. She kept her 
eyes steady on the path. She became focused on her feet, putting 
one in front of the other, avoiding holes and debris on the 
woodland path.

When she no longer saw her shadow, she stopped and gave Argo a 
lunch break. She settled on a stump nibbling one of her dried 
fishsticks. She heard commotion and stood, turning to brandish 
her staff.

"What do you want?"

"We want to pay our respects," answered the leader. "And then we 
want Xena to pay our way."

"I'm taking her back to her brother. I promised."

"Well, you shouldn't make promises you can't keep, little girl."

Gabrielle saw red and swung. Quickly she knocked over the leader, 
and after a blind fight, she discovered, as she stood, that all 
the brigands were laid out. She turned away. Then the leader got 
to his feet.

"You just made yourself an enemy," he growled.

"Funny, so did you," Iolaus popped up behind him and tapped him 
on the shoulder.

In short order, Iolaus dropped the leader and with reinforcements 
having arrived, challenging the bard for the dead warrior's body 
didn't hold much appeal. The men took off.

"Iolaus," breathed Gabrielle, relieved to see a very friendly and 
familiar face. She fell into the blond man's arms and hugged him 
tightly.

"I should get this kind of welcome every time I drop by," he 
remarked lightly. Gabrielle didn't laugh, and he must've heard 
her stifled sniffle. He pulled back and studied her face. 
"Where's Xena?"

Gabrielle bit her lip and stepped back, removing herself from 
Iolaus' line of sight. He looked down at the sarcophagus and she 
could see in his face, as it fell, he knew.

Iolaus walked over to the sarcophagus and planted his hands 
against the lid. Gabrielle told him what happened, finishing 
with, "She just left me. I want to hate her for that. I really 
want to hate her."

Iolaus looked at her and shook his head, grasping her shoulders. 
"No. No you don't."

Gabrielle shook her head. "But she just left me. There were so 
many things I wanted to say to her. Why didn't I tell her when I 
had the chance?"

"We never want to admit it, but we always think there will be 
time."

"I miss her, Iolaus. Why didn't I tell her when I had the chance 
how much she meant to me?"

"Why don't you?" Iolaus grasped her shoulders and smiled into her 
face. "What would you tell her?"

Gabrielle sighed, thought about Lila, thought about her family 
and then filled her mind with Xena, knowing then, as now, she had 
chosen Xena over her family because of the sheer complexity, and 
adventure of being with the warrior. "I'd tell her how empty my 
life was before she came. How much I learned from her... How much 
I love her."

Iolaus smiled. "You just did," he remarked, making Gabrielle's 
heart expand as he brushed her cheek.

Iolaus left shortly, hoping to reach Hercules "before the word of 
mouth does." She let him go with a small, rejuvenating smile. 
Then she moved on again.

 

Gabrielle missed the marker. As the sound of boots overhead and 
then bodies launched themselves from the treetops, Gabrielle knew 
she had missed the markers indicating Amazon land. Since their 
masks did not come off, Gabrielle released her staff and quickly 
clasped her hands over her head in the sign of peace.

She watched in silence as five short swords came out of their 
sheaths and were lain against Xena's lid. Then, Gabrielle watched 
the nearest woman remove her mask. Elation filled her. "Ephiny!" 
Choking back her sob, Gabrielle fell against the Amazon and 
welcomed the hug.

Then she was invited to come back to the village with them. As 
the new queen. Melosa was dead. Gabrielle tried to absorb this. 
Velasca, Gabrielle thought looking over at the reed-thin tall 
woman, who held an air of ferocity about her. Who was she? What 
about Xena?

Ephiny's chatter as they walked behind Xena's sarcophagus 
reminded Gabrielle of Lila. Would her younger sister want her to 
come home? Or maybe Lila would like to come live with the 
Amazons?

Gabrielle didn't know the answer, but maybe, for now, Ephiny was 
right. She could stay here.

Her eyes fell on the sarcophagus. But would it ever be home?

THE END