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.
Additionally, the story below contains references, explicit and implied, of a sexual relationship between two consenting adults of the same sex. If you are not of legal age to read this story, or such material is illegal where you live, or you do not feel comfortable with such content, please refrain from reading this story.
Timeline Notes: After the episode "A Comedy of Eros"
PART ONE
Bending to the fact that her two companions were on foot, Xena
led Argo along the forest path. Stepping carefully along, she
eyed her surroundings with all the ease of a caged lion.
"Problem, Xena?" Joxer, who'd been making practice swings with
his sword, moved in longer strides for a few steps, bringing him
quickly alongside the taller brunette.
She looked over, offering him a distracted half-smile. "We're
almost to the markers," she informed him and then turned to
Gabrielle. The small blonde woman quickly walked up on her other
side.
Gabrielle shrugged and smiled. "Great. I can't wait to see
Ephiny." Touching Xena's arm briefly, she added, "She'll be so
excited."
Joxer however had been learning a little from Xena the last few
days. While Gabrielle seemed unconcerned, she appeared to
disregard the tension he noticed in Xena. "Something's still
wrong though."
Xena stopped walking, causing Joxer and Gabrielle to do the same.
"It might just be an animal." She put a hand on Joxer's shoulder.
Gabrielle twirled her staff, bounced it off the dirt and started
leading the little group further on the road. Both Xena and Joxer
watched her for a moment, admiring the lithe gaiety of the small
woman's strides, before resuming their own pace.
Xena kept her eyes on Gabrielle. Joxer leaned close for a moment.
"What was it?"
"We're being tracked by scouts already," she confided. "Up in the
trees to the left." She stepped on his foot when he started to
look. "Don't be obvious about it," she murmured.
Joxer nodded and moved a short distance away from Xena before
looking around. Finally he looked up into the lower branches
spread as a canopy over their heads. He didn't see anything,
suspected that whoever was up there saw him watching and looked
more intently. If Xena said there were scouts in the trees...
Then there were scouts in the trees. Joxer smiled finally
noticing the different texture among the leaves. Amazon
headdresses might blend in color with the autumn changed leaves,
but feathers really looked nothing like leaves, if you knew how
to look. He smiled and nodded again to Xena who had taught him
the distinction using one of Gabrielle's decorative Amazon
armbands playing hide and seek in the trees each night. The
warrior returned the gesture.
A few strides more and they caught up with Gabrielle. Joxer
cajoled the bard into a story to fill the remainder of their
trip. After thinking for a moment, and grasping Xena's hand
lightly, Gabrielle launched into the tale of Persephone.
The bard's animated voice drifted among the trees. Joxer and Xena
both noticed the change in the trailing scouts' behavior. Argo
whinnied when the traveling party reached the first Amazon
marker. Xena turned absently to rub the mare's muzzle.
The leaves rustled overhead, signaling the arrival of the
greeting party. Argo's reins were dropped. The bard and warrior
both reached over their heads clasping their hands in the Amazon
sign of peace. Joxer sheathed his sword and quickly followed suit
as the masked women slid down sturdy ropes filling the path
before the trio.
A quick head count told Joxer there were nearly twenty Amazons
now in the road. He looked up at the trees, amazed that many
could have hidden from view.
He started forward to ask and found several spears intercepting
his approach. He looked over his shoulder at Xena, who shook her
head, so he desisted.
The spears were lowered slowly. After another long moment of no
movement from anyone, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer or the Amazons, an
Amazon near the front removed her mask.
Shaggy dirty blonde curls and sparkling brown eyes moved over all
of them until she broke into a smile at the sight of the bard.
"Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle fell into an embrace with the Amazon Regent. Other
masks came off and Xena found herself in a warrior's clasp with
Solari, head of the Amazon army.
Curious Amazons surrounded Joxer, who weren't examining him so
much as a man, but his hand-assembled armor.
Gabrielle answered Eponin's questioning look. "That's Joxer. A
friend."
"Do you wish for him to stay in the village or send him to the
Centaurs, Queen Gabrielle?" This from Solari, who studied Joxer
with a mixture of disdain and suspicion, as always concerned for
the village's safety.
Xena looked at Joxer who was valiantly keeping his hands off the
women around him. Staying in the village would be terrible on
him. She shook her head at Gabrielle. But the bard didn't have
the chance.
Joxer genially pushed away a hand trying to separate his armor
and the secure netting. "It's nice of you to think...but... I
really should move on."
Ephiny nodded. "You have helped return our queen. At least you
could stay for the party."
"Party?" replied Joxer, his eyes lighting up.
"Party?" Xena's voice cracked in alarm.
"Party!" Gabrielle excitedly clasped her hands together.
Cheering and raucous banter circled the trio.
One of the younger Amazons in the party, her feathers threaded
through mouse brown hair, tried to take Argo's reins helpfully.
"I've got her," Xena insisted, keeping hold of the mare while
giving her a mollified version of The Look. Nervously, the young
woman stepped away and returned to the middle of the Amazon
escort party.
Ephiny ushered Gabrielle quickly ahead of Xena and Joxer amid the
mob. The party, it appeared, had already started. Xena pulled
Joxer close. Tersely, she said, "The minute you touch anybody,
you'll lose a hand. Be careful."
Joxer nodded, using his shoulder to angle through a group of
Amazon girls who insisted on pulling at the netting holding his
breastplate in place. "I figured that much out. Do you want me to
take off?"
Xena spied Ephiny and Gabrielle up at the head of the swirl. "You
can't. You're being acknowledged as an escort to the queen."
He nodded again. Xena watched a young Amazon eye him dramatically
-- there was no accounting for taste, she thought. She watched
Joxer smile -- he no doubt thought, enigmatically -- but Xena
thought it made him look constipated. But then he vigorously
shook his head at the young woman and moved close to Xena as they
reached the perimeter of the village proper.
With a heavy heart, Xena watched Gabrielle being greeted by
everyone. A few moments earlier she'd separated herself from
Joxer, reminding him again to keep his hands to himself. Now he'd
managed to wedge his way toward Gabrielle. She herself could have
gotten close to the bard, but the effort would have required
pulling one of her "terrible" faces. While the Amazons were not
on the short list of people Xena cared to impress one way or the
other, their opinion was important to Gabrielle, so the warrior
resolved not to irritate anyone unnecessarily.
She saw Ephiny's hand on the small of Gabrielle's back and almost
considered changing that plan. Acknowledging the tightness which
suddenly squeezed her chest, she found herself caught between
jealousy and thankful that Gabrielle had such a protector when
she herself could not be close.
The warrior took a deep breath and dispelled the constriction of
her chest. She put the regent out of her mind as she walked Argo
to the Amazon corral. At Xena's light push on her rump, the
golden mare slipped around the gate.
"You stay away from the master over there." She pointed the
mare's nose toward the stallion leader of the small horse pack.
Argo pawed the ground and snorted, then lipped Xena's hand. "You
don't want to be stabled here while Gabrielle and I go off and
have all the fun." The warrior patted her withers, then stepped
back. Argo trotted off to mingle. The mare looked back and
snorted again. Xena nodded. "Just so long as we understand each
other."
She turned to walk back into the village center. By her third
step she had stopped looking down at her boots and found Solari
approaching quickly.
"Xena."
"Solari. Something on your mind?"
"Not at the moment. No." Solari took the lead, escorting Xena
through the throngs of Amazons, some at daily chores, others
buzzing with news of the queen's arrival.
"Umm hmm."
Silence accompanied them to the entrance of the queen's hut. Xena
entered after Solari, who went immediately to Ephiny's side, bent
and whispered something to the regent. Ephiny nodded, and
dismissed Solari. She sat in a small chair across the table from
Gabrielle, who was passing a bowl of fruit to Joxer as the man
circled, examining the wall hangings.
Gabrielle looked up at Xena, eyes warm and intimate. Ephiny was
less warm, starting with a scrutiny of Xena's boots, moving
slowly up absorbing the warrior's appearance. Her eyes narrowed
and Xena felt ridiculously on display.
"Xena!" The bard came to her feet moving toward the warrior but
stopped when Xena self-consciously dropped a hand to smooth the
leather strips of her skirt. The bard cocked her head slightly,
curious.
"Xena." Ephiny stood and waited as the warrior moved toward the
center of the room.
"Hello. Ephiny." Xena was dismayed to find her strong voice
unusually quiet. Joxer walked past. Xena liberated the bowl,
snatching up an apple and biting quickly into it. Over the smooth
skin of the apple, Xena eyed Ephiny. Ridiculously she noticed her
own hand was shaking.
Joxer tried to take back the bowl. "Hey!"
"I'm hungry." Xena shrugged, biting again into the apple. Finally
calm, she looked to Gabrielle. "Quite a welcome out there."
Gabrielle nodded and came closer. "Where'd you go?" She pulled a
handful of cherries from the bowl and pulled Xena into another
chair.
"Dropped Argo off at the corral."
"I'll see that your horse is well tended." Ephiny moved to the
doorway. She looked once from Xena to Gabrielle and then back
again. She added, "You should rest here, Gabrielle, until the
festivities start." She looked at Joxer. "Come with us. You've
been assigned a hut elsewhere." Joxer nodded and moved to the
doorway. Ephiny looked back at Xena. "You have other quarters
assigned too. When you have a moment, one of the others will show
you."
Gabrielle started to say something, but Xena put a gentle hand to
the bard's shoulder, a silent gesture to be still. "We'll see you
at the evening meal," the Warrior Princess promised. Ephiny
looked about to say something further but stopped and turned
away, leaving Xena and Gabrielle alone.
The bard put down her apple and pulled Xena's from her hands.
"What were you fidgeting about?"
"I don't fidget."
"Ephiny stared at you pretty hard. I don't understand why yet,
but I'm sure you haven't done anything wrong. I know that makes
you self-conscious."
"I'm not sure she believes that."
"For the gods' sake, Xena, you saved the village from Velasca."
Gabrielle touched Xena's bracer and started unlacing it. The
warrior stiffened and stepped back. "Stop fidgeting."
"I do not fidget." Xena turned to insist again and found herself
being thoroughly kissed. Together they settled awkwardly into a
chair. Xena found herself half straddling the arm, until she slid
a little to the right.
Nuzzling and bubbly, Gabrielle hugged Xena. "I've been waiting to
do that."
Xena was pleased to see the blonde happy, but she had trouble
shaking the uneasy feeling which had risen, almost like a
defensive battle instinct, under Ephiny's lengthy silent
scrutiny. "The Amazons are very happy to see you. I figured you'd
want the time to be with them for a while."
"Is that why you let them just lead me on, while you went and
settled Argo?" Xena nodded. The bard nuzzled Xena's throat and
straddled the warrior's lap. "Ephiny did say she had some laws
she wanted me to review while I was here. I told her we could get
started tomorrow." Gabrielle's hands roamed Xena's body, slipping
fingers underneath leather straps and over the warrior's smooth
back and shoulder muscles. "We have a few hours."
Xena sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm distracted."
"Joxer's not here. Come on. I made Ephiny give him someplace else
-- for his sake as well as ours." She ran a hand over the
warrior's bicep, releasing the leather tie on the second bracer.
"You missed me, hmmm," sighed Xena, accepting Gabrielle's kisses
on her forehead, cheeks and throat.
"Oh, yeah." The warrior slid her hands over Gabrielle's
sleekness. "Do I have your attention now?" The affirmative murmur
rumbled against the bard's cheek. "Good." The bard pulled back
for a moment. "I am very tired of not being able to be this close
to you." Xena stiffened. Gabrielle rubbed Xena's shoulders. "No.
Stop. We talked to Joxer. While he's not completely comfortable,
he's getting there."
Xena shook her head. "Don't you think Ephiny looked a little
strange?" asked Xena, even as she sighed at the touch of her
lover's hands in her hair. Gabrielle pulled free the small
leather lacing which caught most of the warrior's long tresses
and kept them out of her face.
Gabrielle shrugged. "Probably has to do with whatever I put off
until tomorrow." She sat down. "Do you think she's worried about
something? Should I cancel the party and find out what she needed
instead?"
Xena thought a moment. The Regent's behavior, even though it set
off warning bells, could just be tension related to leading the
Amazons in Gabrielle's absence. "Maybe I'm overreacting. Ephiny
did suggest the party herself."
"Still. Perhaps I should..."
The warrior put a finger to Gabrielle's lips. Obediently, the
bard fell silent. "There's one thing worse than a worried
Amazon."
"What's that?"
"A challenged one. Ephiny thinks whatever it is that's bothering
her can wait until after the party. Otherwise she would have said
something."
"Umm hmmm," replied Gabrielle, as Xena kissed her. "So we wait."
She nibbled Xena's lips.
Obligingly, Xena let go her tensions and nibbled back on soft
lips. "But we don't have to sit on our hands."
Gabrielle giggled as Xena's hands slid under her skirt and
massaged her rear. "Um, no, but I don't mind sitting on your
hands."
Xena chuckled and swept Gabrielle up into her arms, bearing the
bard to the goose-tick mattress. "Just a few hours," she
murmured, kissing the bard tenderly. She stripped away the small
green top, kissed taut abdomen muscles, delighting in their
twitch beneath her tongue as she dipped it into the bard's navel.
She revealed muscular, trim legs from beneath Gabrielle's leather
skirt.
"Don't yell too loudly," she warned with a sensuous smile. "I
don't want to be accused of trying to kill the queen." She
stroked the juncture of the bard's thighs. Closing her eyes, she
tried through touch to communicate her love for Gabrielle. The
feelings swelled in her chest until there were tears welling in
her eyes. A gentle hand brushed at her cheeks. Opening her eyes,
she fell into Gabrielle's glistening green eyes. She breathed
against the bard's ear, knowing, even as the bard's hips jumped,
exactly what she was doing to her love.
Gabrielle growled and shoved Xena's shoulder, urging the woman
downward where the heat was building rapidly. Her voice when it
came was breathy, sending Xena's own senses spirally toward
bliss. She whispered, "With what you're already doing, I'm
already close to expiring..."
"With pleasure?" Xena eased a finger inside the bard's damp, hot
center. Then she lowered her mouth to Gabrielle's breast,
suckling the flesh gently as the nipple pebbled against her
tongue.
The bard squirmed. "Definitely," she said, the words uttered on
the end of a purring sigh.
For the time being they forgot Joxer and Ephiny, savoring this
moment of each other's time... alone.
Gabrielle awakened, stretching luxuriantly against Xena's body as
she heard the soft trumpet signaling the start of the evening
festivities. She felt long fingers threading through her hair and
looked up to see soft blue eyes looking down, a moment of
unguarded tenderness filling them. "Sounds like the party's
starting."
"Ummm hmmm." Xena stretched and shifted her legs from beneath
Gabrielle's sprawled body. "Ready to greet your subjects, your
majesty?"
Gabrielle flushed and pushed up, steepling her arms over Xena's
abdomen, studying the warrior's face. "'Your majesty'? Come on,
Xena. You've never called me that. You know I don't like it.
Something you want to talk to me about?"
Xena shook her head. "You know how I am with the Amazons,
Gabrielle."
"Yeah, I know." Gabrielle sat up. "But I thought this time might
be different because you're with me now. Not just my friend."
Xena rolled over and pulled herself off the bed gracefully.
Gabrielle watched the lithe body slide back into the supple
leather. "They didn't expect me to be sleeping here. I think that
says something."
Gabrielle shrugged. "You're staying with me." She paused. "I have
the right to demand that, don't I?"
Xena pulled her hair free of the collar of her gambeson, and
shrugged. "I'm sure you do." She examined her blade and slipped
it into her sheath.
"I don't think you'll need that." Gabrielle spoke just as Xena
buckled the sheath into place. The warrior raised her eyebrow and
Gabrielle recanted. "But I suppose extra protection is always
welcome."
Xena smiled lightly and settled to a chair to watch Gabrielle
dress. The bard fetched her clothing from the various places
around the floor. Every time she passed Xena's seat, the warrior
would run an appreciative hand over whatever skin remained
exposed.
The sensuously soft touch was driving Gabrielle back into
passion's grip. Finally she tied her skirt into place and stood,
smoothing the leather over her thighs. "How do I look?" Xena
raised an eyebrow. "I know. I know. Wrong person to ask."
Gabrielle continued to fidget slightly.
Xena stood and put a steadying hand on the slender bare shoulder.
Gabrielle looked up at her, then squared her shoulders before
heading for the door of the hut. The warrior realized the bard
was anxious to make a good impression on her adopted people.
"You'll be fine."
She made her voice fill with a confidence she no longer felt. The
thought had come; Gabrielle's desire to please the Amazons
created a knot of uneasiness in Xena's stomach. She definitely
had felt something unwelcome in Ephiny's look. After all they had
been through together she didn't like to think something she had
done would harm Gabrielle's relationship with Ephiny and the
other Amazons. But the hairs on her neck raised once again when
Ephiny greeted them just outside the main square. Beyond, Xena
could see, throngs upon throngs of assembled Amazons in
celebratory leathers and decorative feathers.
"Gabrielle, welcome back. We, the Amazons of Centaur Valley,
welcome you home." Ephiny pulled the bard along with outstretched
hands and then turned away, revealing to Gabrielle, and Xena who
stood at the bard's shoulder, the formal center of the assembly.
Amazons in headdress and seated, cradling palm drums, filled the
square to the right. Dancers stood at attention on the left.
Ephiny started to raise her hand in a signal to the dancers but
then paused looking to Gabrielle. "Can they begin?"
Gabrielle nodded and said, "Of course. Please. Anything they have
planned."
Ephiny frowned, but nodded to the lead dancers, who began
undulating to the slow, heartbeat rhythm set by the palm
drummers. The regent indicated that Gabrielle and Xena were to
follow her. She led them around the outside of the dancers,
Gabrielle studying the rhythmic movements while Xena gently, but
unnoticed, guided her carefully behind Ephiny.
Ephiny reached a small raised platform constructed of bamboo and
pine thatch. There were two seats set upon it, and she indicated
with a nod that Gabrielle should take the one on the left as they
stepped up.
Gabrielle looked around for another seat, and frowned. "Where can
Xena sit?"
"This is only for the leadership," Ephiny explained. "The dancers
must be able to see to take their cues from us."
Gabrielle must have felt the chill in Ephiny's voice because Xena
saw her back stiffen. Before the bard could say anything
untoward, the warrior leaned close and said simply, "I'd prefer
to stand."
Ephiny looked over Gabrielle's shoulder a bit of surprise on her
face. Nodding, Xena stepped behind Gabrielle's chair, holding it
while the bard settled. Then she stood at relaxed attention just
slightly off Gabrielle's right shoulder. Ephiny then seated
herself, and three pairs of eyes scanned the festivities.
Part 2