Caught in those eyes, with those words, Gabrielle felt something shift inside her, altering her vision of the woman in front of her in a strange way.
It didn’t change Lila’s dying. It didn’t make Xena any less responsible – in fact, the queen seemed to be taking that responsibility and putting it squarely on her own shoulders, without any attempt to excuse it.
She thought about that. Maybe that was the difference. There were no excuses. Maybe that made Xena’s regret over it causing Gabrielle pain all the more profound.
It meant she meant something to Xena. Her. Gabrielle. Now the only thing it was left for Gabrielle to decide was – whether that was a good or a very, very bad thing.
She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Thanks.” She whispered. “I’m sorry, too.”
They were both silent for a while. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” Gabrielle suddenly spoke up. “The reason Stanislaus tried to get me out.. tonight… is because they started after me downstairs.” She looked at Xena, seeing the watchfulness in her eyes. “I think they wanted me to help them hurt you.”
Xena blinked. “So soon.” She muttered. “Damn.”
“I told them they were stupid.”
Xena looked at her. “I bet they didn’t like that.”
“No, not really.” Gabrielle said. “I think they wanted to kill me.” She frowned. “Seems like a popular idea today.”
“Mm. Well, I’m glad they didn’t.” Xena felt the ache in her back growing again, and remembered how much she hated being injured. “I would have had to kill them if they had and I’m not up to it at the moment.”
Gabrielle looked up at that. She could see the grimace of pain Xena couldn’t quite hide and she put a hand out in reflex, then let it fall.
Xena pursed her lips wryly. “There’s a bottle of wine over on the chest. Get it.”
Gabrielle got to her feet and collected the bottle, and a cup she found next to it, and brought it back over. She poured some of the wine, a rich, red liquid uncomfortably similar to the blood she’d spent candlemarks cleaning into the cup.
Then she looked at Xena. “Um.”
“Yeah.” Slowly, the queen pushed herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She paused momentarily with her eyes closed, her face a study in stoic concentration. Then she straightened and opened her eyes. “Put that down. Get the other glass.”
Gabrielle did as she was ordered, and returned with the second glass. Xena picked up the bottle with her left hand and poured some wine into it. The bottle trembled in her grip, and she bit off a curse as she put it back down. She lifted the glass Gabrielle had poured and looked at the girl. “Welcome to Hades, Gabrielle.” She leaned forward and touched her cup to the one Gabrielle was holding. “Stick with me, and I’ll try to keep you from being fed to Cerebus too quickly.” She took a sip of the wine, and raised her eyebrows, waiting.
Slowly, Gabrielle brought the cup to her lips and sipped it, flinching at little at the strange taste. After a moment, she swallowed, finding it not as bad as she at first thought. It was heady and potent, and caused a definite jolt in her guts. She licked her lips thoughtfully.
A little like Xena herself, as a matter of fact.
Gabrielle studied her cup, and wondered if she really knew what she’d just gotten herself into.
**
Xena seated herself carefully in her chair in the outer, public chamber. She had on a loose, flowing gown, of a light fabric but even the weight of it on her back was almost intolerable. The wine had allowed her sleep the night before, but waking in the morning had been painful, and though Gabrielle had done the best she’d been capable of, the bandage changing had almost broken even Xena’s stoic resolve.
Poor kid. Xena spared a glance towards the inner door, where Gabrielle was going about her usual cleaning tasks.
One change, though – Xena had ordered her to stay out of the kitchens. She’d given direction to the servant who brought in her morning tray to double the contents, and told Gabrielle it would stay that way until she figured out what the Hades was going on and who exactly she could… well, not trust.
Somehow, Xena didn’t think Gabrielle minded too much. In fact, the girl had seemed damned relieved about it and she made a mental note to find out what had really happened down stairs.
Now. On to other, less enjoyable matters. Like sitting. Xena took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, focusing her will inward and forcing the pain out of her conscious mind. After a moment, she lifted her head and let her eyes open.
Then she picked up a small bell and rang it.
Almost at once, the door opened, and Stanislaus entered. “Mistress.” He ducked his head, but she saw the quick study of her in his eyes as he did it.
“Stanislaus.” Xena rested her hands on the arms of her chair. “I want an explanation from you.”
He stiffened.
“I want to know why you attempted to take my chamber slave away from me.” Xena went on. “Especially since you know how pleased I am with her.”
“Mistress.”
“Talk, or die.” Xena lifted a hand to her chin, a dagger materializing in her fingers as she gently stroked her chin with its hilt. She saw the utter shock in his eyes, watched the solid knowledge of his place with her crumble into ash. Dispassionately, she held his gaze. “I’m waiting.”
He was shaking, Xena observed. He walked towards her and dropped to his knees at her feet, bowing his head. “I saw danger to you, Mistress.”
“Really.” Xena remarked.
He lifted his head slightly. “I saw her as a weakness… a way for your enemies to get to you.” He said. “The others knew how to twist her.”
Possibly true. Xena acknowledged. “They only thought they did.” She said. “Just like you only thought you knew the depths of her.”
Stanislaus looked up. “Mistress, she is a danger to you.” He stated softly, persuasively.
Xena smiled to herself, eyeing her dagger hilt. “Oh yes, Stanislaus. She is.” The queen murmured. “But not the way you’re thinking.” She finished, in a sharp voice. “Leave her alone. If you or anyone else meddles with her again, I will slit your throat and not even feel it.”
He swallowed. “Mistress.”
Xena leaned forward, pushing the jolt of pain in her back out of her mind. “Tell everyone, Stanislaus.” She rasped. “She’s mine.”
The seneschal’s shoulders dropped a little. “Yes, Mistress.” He nodded submissively.
Xena got up and walked around him, then she grabbed his hair and yanked him upright to his feet. Only her iron control kept her standing herself, as a white hot blast of pain nearly took her to her knees. She sucked in a breath. “Don’t you ever do that again.” She snarled in his ear. “Don’t you ever go behind my back even if you think you’re doing the right thing. Understand!!!!”
He nodded, once.
“You almost died last night.” Xena told him. “Did you know that?”
Stanislaus looked at her in patent fear. “M… mistress?”
“They were waiting for you outside, Stanislaus. For you, and for little Gabrielle, and for whoever else you coerced into your plan. Bowmen.”
He actually stopped breathing. His eyes widened fully and he stared at her in shock.
Xena shoved him from her, only just keeping her own balance. “Better figure out again who your friends are, hm?” Her voice turned mocking. “Cause I think you guessed wrong at least once.”
He tugged at his sleeves, a look of confusion on his face. “Mistress… I.. I swear it, I only meant to help.”
“Hm.” Xena returned to her chair and settled gratefully in it. “Yes, yourself mostly, but yes, I know that.” She let out a careful breath. “Otherwise you’d be in pieces on the gate.” She said. “Leave me.”
He bowed low. “Mistress.”
She watched him leave, sitting regally erect until the door closed. Then she leaned on one of the chair arms, taking pressure off her back as a soft oath was forced from her lips. “Damn it.” She could feel the sweat rolling down the back of her neck and for a moment, the room started to move around her.
She closed her eyes.
Heavy footsteps approached, and she heard a low, vibrant voice outside. Painfully she pulled herself erect again as a somber knock came at the door. It took a moment, but she managed to control her breathing enough to answer. “Come.”
Bregos entered. He walked with confidence, stopping before her chair and gracefully ducking his head. Today he was dressed in sober court garb, a nicely fitted tunic and tight leggings that outlined his excellent physique. “Your Majesty.” He greeted her.
“Bregos.” Xena could hear the strain in her voice.
“I would speak with you on the matter of my captain.”
“Your late captain.” Xena said.
Bregos hesitated, his eyes watching her closely. “Just so.” He pursed his lips. “An unfortunate accident.”
“No.” Xena almost felt amused. “Bregos, as my general, surely you realize it isn’t possible to accidentally slit a man’s throat.” She said. “The bastard broke my rule, and he paid for it. Anyone else wanting to try that… well.. I’ve got a lot of farmers asking for fertilizer.”
Bregos paced to the window and looked out. Xena casually leaned on the arm of her chair, as though turning to watch him.
“Mistress, it wasn’t as it seemed.”
“Bregos, cut the crap.” Xena sighed. “What part of a raped female body do you think I’m not familiar with? The bastard could have least used his own member, not whatever it was he used to carve a furrow in the woman the size of an ox’s leg.”
The general sighed. “Mistress, it was just a slave.”
“It was my slave.” Xena told him. “My property, who had tasks, who had a purpose of mine own choosing that didn’t include being a sex toy for bored soldiers.”
“His life.. “ Bregos turned, squaring his shoulders. “Was worth more than hers, Majesty. It’s a crime against the people to waste the life of one of its soldiers so.”
“It was a crime against me to break my rule.” Xena replied. “And his life wasn’t worth more than the girls to me.”
“The men don’t understand that.”
“Then explain it to them in smaller words.” Xena felt her patience, never really that generous, slipping. “What part of ‘you may not rape castle servants’ are they having difficulty with? If they’re that much in need, tell them to mount each other.”
He faced her. “Majesty, the men do not accept that.”
Xena tilted her head to one side and regarded him. “Are you saying you agree with them, Bregos?”
“I value my men.”
“Well.” Xena slowly crossed her ankles, tucking them under her seat. “Then I’ll have to remove you.”
His eyes flickered. “Majesty?” His voice sounded incredulous.
Xena folded her hands across her stomach. “My rules don’t change. Either you abide by them, and support me, or you will no longer be in my service.”
“You can’t…”
Xena laughed. “Of course I can.” Then her voice sobered. “And I will.” She leaned forward. “Bregos, is your position worth it?”
He nibbled the inside of his lip, an oddly boyish maneuver for a man his size. “Your majesty.. will you not see reason?”
“Not in this room anywhere.” Xena gazed steadily at him. “Pick your course of action wisely, general.”
With a faint shake of his head, Bregos gave her a sketchy bow, then he made his way to the door and left, without a backwards glance.
Xena let her eyelids flutter closed, and she felt the room recede a little, the outdoor sounds buzzing in her ears with an annoying echo.
A soft throat clearing almost made her jump. She opened her eyes and turned her head, to see Gabrielle standing just inside the inner door, with a jug and a cup in her hands.
“Thought maybe you’d like a drink.” Gabrielle hefted the jug. “And.. um.. “ Her eyes flicked to Xena’s back. “You’re bleeding.”
“Ah.” Xena winced. “Thought that was too warm for sweat.” She looked at the jug. “What is that?”
“Chilled wine.”
Xena managed a brief smile. “Gabrielle, you’re worth your weight in gold leaf.” She nodded. “Gimme. I’ll get some of that down, then you can put another layer of bandage over that hole in my back.”
Gabrielle poured her a cup and handed it over, then set the jug down. “Is what the general said true?”
“Which part?” Xena gratefully swallowed a few mouthfuls of the cold wine.
“About the men being worth more than slaves?”
Xena swirled the wine in her cup. “If you look at it a certain way, sure.” She nodded. “A fighting soldier, risking his life for the land – he’s trained, he’s skilled… he could be considered more valuable.” She watched Gabrielle’s expressive face shift as she thought, a furrow appearing on her brow. “But it had nothing to do with that for me. He broke a rule, and Bregos knows it. What he’s trying to get around is that he, and those with him, don’t like that rule.”
“Hm.” Gabrielle pondered that. She looked up at Xena. “I think he’ll break it again, just to see how far he can push things.”
A wan twinkle appeared in Xena’s eyes. “I think you’re right.”
Gabrielle’s lips moved into a slight smile, then relaxed. “You told Stanislaus I was a danger to you.” She asked softly. “What did you mean by that? Didn’t you believe what I said?”
Xena leaned her chin on her fist, with a very wry look. “I did.” She said. “But I knew he wouldn’t understand what I meant, and neither would you.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry about it, Gabrielle.” Xena drained her cup and painfully eased out of her chair. “Because I’m not worried about it.” Slowly she limped towards the bedroom. “In fact, right now it’s the least of my worries.”
With a puzzled frown, Gabrielle picked up the jug and followed her. “Okay.” She sighed. “If you say so.”
“Oo.” Xena drawled. “Someone who actually does what I say. Be still my beating heart.” She lowered herself to the bed on her stomach, and exhaled, waiting for Gabrielle’s gentle touch.
Wanting it.
An ironic smile shaped her lips.
**
Gabrielle dropped into her cot, stretching her legs out and relaxing with a sigh. She’d gotten the queen’s chambers cleaned, and Xena had gone off to her afternoon court.
She wondered how good an idea that really was. It was obvious to her that Xena was really hurting, and even though she’d rested after Bregos’ visit, it had been difficult for her to get up and leave.
Gabrielle plucked at her blood stained apron and admitted to being worried about the woman. She was at a loss to explain to herself why, but she felt how she felt and there was no denying it. “Self interest.” She spoke aloud. “I know if something happens to her, I’m toast.”
She drummed her fingers on the edge of the cot and regarded the ceiling. Then she sighed. “Yeah, right.”
“Psst.”
Gabrielle’s heart almost stopped. She gripped the edge of the bed and leaned forward, only to see Toris’ head slowly emerge around the corner of her cubby. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Shh.” Toris slipped inside and padded over to her, dropping to a crouch next to her cot. “Wow. Are you okay?” His eyes were on her apron.
“Yeah.” Gabrielle studied his face.
“I heard what happened.” Toris gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.”
A tiny crease dimpled the skin on Gabrielle’s forehead.
“See? You should have stayed downstairs. I know that guy was scary, but we’d have kept you away from her.” Toris told her. “He didn’t really mean it… he was just afraid.”
“He said he’d kill me.” Gabrielle said, slowly.
“No.. no.” Toris laid a hand on her knee. “Gabrielle, we need you.” He looked earnestly at her. “We need you to help us. Now that you see what she’s really like, you will, won’t you?”
“What she’s really like?”
“What she did to you, Gabrielle. It’s no different than what that soldier did in the barracks and she killed him for it. But it’s okay for her to do. Is that fair? Now you see why everyone’s against her!”
Gabrielle stared off into the distance for a moment, then looked at him. “What is it you want me to do?”
A smile spread across Toris’ face. “I knew you’d join us.” He exhaled in relief. “Come downstairs, tonight, and we’ll show you.” He said. “And we’ll do it fast, so you don’t have to suffer with her anymore.” He shook his head. “That bitch. How could she do that after what she did to your sister.. in front of you!!!!”
Gabrielle felt a lump rise in her throat. She dropped her eyes to the ground.
“I’m sorry.” Toris gentled his voice. “Listen, come tonight, and I promise you… it’ll be the last night you ever have to worry about her.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle kept her head down. “I’ll be there.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Good.” He said. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek gently. “It’ll be all right, Gabrielle.” He promised her, then he stood up and slipped out of the cubby.
Gabrielle rested her elbows on her knees and leaned her chin against her folded hands.
**
Xena walked slowly along the arbor, pausing frequently to gaze out over the wall. To all who were watching, it seemed she was just indulging in a familiar habit, inspecting the different areas of the stronghold in a casual way.
In truth every step was agony. Xena rested her hands on the stone wall and watched a sparring session in progress. Several of her men were clustered on one end of the practice field, and after a moment they spotted her standing there.
Xena held her breath, reading them. Then she relaxed, as they started sidling in her direction. Brendan came out of the barracks and spotted her as well, angling his steps towards her outright.
“Mistress.” Brendan got there first, putting his hands on the wall and leaping over it. “A word with ye.”
Xena leaned a little more on the wall, half turning to face him. “Go on.”
He hesitated, then knelt.
Maybe it was the pain. Xena felt the faintest tightness in her throat.
“Mistress, it was like this.” Brendan said. “We knew they was doing a bad thing. But..” He paused. “They hit us low, like. They told us..”
“They told you if you told me, you were a bunch of sissies?” Xena guessed.
He peeked up at her.
Xena half smiled. “And that this was how real armies worked?”
Brendan sighed.
“You know better.” Xena remarked.
“Aye.” The old soldier agreed. “But Mistress.. it weren’t the men’s fault.”
“No?”
He looked up. “It were my fault. I know better more than most. I should ha come to you.” Slowly he drew his dagger, and offered it to her, hilt first. “I failed ye.”
Xena took the dagger and examined it. She was aware, from her peripheral vision, that her men and some of Bregos were watching the scene. Brendan was right, of course, and she knew it. She understood the pride that had prevented him from doing what he knew she wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that his inaction had caused the situation to continue.
For that, she’d established, the penalty was death and he knew it. That was her law.
Xena reached out and tangled the fingers of her free hand in his gray hair, tightening her grip and pulling his head back. He gazed up at her in quiet acceptance, a gentle trust shining from his eyes.
She braced herself, then swiped with the dagger in her other hand, cutting through the hair with an audible hiss.
Then she lifted her hand, and examined her handiwork. “That should be enough.” She handed him the handful of hair, which left the top of his head bizarrely shorn. “Your pride got you into this, you’ll have to suffer looking like that till it grows out.” Then she reversed the dagger and handed it back.
He swallowed and took it. “Mistress.”
“Sorry. I know you were looking forward to it, but I’m just not in the mood to kill anyone today.” Xena ruffled the stubble on his head. “G’wan.” She leaned again on the wall as he stood. “We have to be ready for tomorrow, Brendan.” She said quietly. “He’s going for it.”
“Aye.” The old soldier nodded. “We will be.” He quietly met her eyes. “Thank you, Xena.”
That got a real smile from her, despite the pain. She motioned him away and continued on her walk, cocking her ears behind her to catch the low, eager whispers. Better. Xena nodded to herself, trying to decide if she should ignore the growing throbbing in her back.
Probably a stupid idea. She examined her options, and selected a path that would result in her ending up near the small door to the tower stairs.
It was time to see what Gabrielle was up to, anyway.
**
“It’s really red.” Gabrielle murmured.
“I bet it is.” Xena muttered back. “Feels like it.”
Gabrielle gazed unhappily at the wound, wondering if it was something she’d done wrong. The area where the arrow had gone in was swollen, and felt hot under her touch.
“Damn.” Xena rested her chin on her wrist. “All right. Get the knife you were using last night.”
Reluctantly, Gabrielle stood and walked to the chest, opening the drawer and pulling the sharp dagger out. She returned to the bed and knelt again at Xena’s side. “Okay.”
Xena wadded up a fold of the bedding and closed her hand around it. “There’s a dark line where the arrow went in, right?”
“Yes.”
“Cut into it.”
Gabrielle hesitated. “What?” She asked. “Are you sure? That will open it all up again.”
One of Xena’s eyebrows cocked at her. “You a healer now?” She asked. “Just do what I tell you, okay?”
Abashed, Gabrielle wiped the blade carefully and poised it, then bit the inside of her lip and pressed downward on the dark line. The blade popped through Xena’s skin with an almost audible sound, and as she cut, a flow of pale red mixed with ugly yellow poured out of the wound. “Oh.”
She finished, and pulled back, then glanced at Xena. The queen was lying perfectly still, only the stark whiteness of the knuckles wrapped around the bedding indicating what she was going through. “It’s done.” Gabrielle put a hand on Xena’s arm.
Slowly, the blue eyes fluttered open. “Wash it out good.” Xena spoke in a husky, almost remote tone.
Gabrielle complied, soaking the piece of linen she’d been using to wash the wound and squeezing it out over Xena’s back. She repeated the process over and over, until the wound ran clear, and she could see it was much less swollen. “That looks better.”
“Really.” Xena muttered. She gave Gabrielle a look.
“Sorry.” The blond girl apologized. “I just ask questions because I don’t understand and I want to.”
“Uh huh.” Xena closed her eyes. “Put a lot of that powder in there before you put the bandage on. Maybe I’ll get lucky and you won’t have to do this again.” She slowly uncurled her hand, which was cramping painfully from gripping the linens. Damn, that had hurt.
Gabrielle gently dried the area, then she took the powdered herbs and covered the wound with them, making sure she got them into the newly cut area. Then she replaced the bandage with a clean one and retied the ends of the cloth around Xena’s body.
“What’s that sound?” Xena suddenly asked, hearing a soft rumble.
Gabrielle’s hands stopped in mid motion. “Um.” She glanced down at herself in mild embarrassment. “Sorry.. I guess that’s me.” She explained. “Hungry, I guess.”
Xena glanced at the window, seeing the fading twilight. “Go outside and tell the guard I’ll be eating in my chambers tonight. No court.” She said. “With this thing, in my mood, I’m liable to use the shiskebabs to nail courtiers I’m annoyed at to their chairs anyway.”
Gabrielle remembered her promise to Toris. “I could go get the tray, if you want.”
“No.” Xena shook her head. “Just tell the guard. He knows what to do.” She said. “Tell him to send up a double tray… otherwise I’ll be up all night with all that noise.”
In the act of standing, Gabrielle paused, and looked at Xena uncertainly. Was she being teased?
A blue eye regarded her soberly.
Gabrielle picked up the basin, and headed for the door. Toris, she decided, would just have to wait for another night.
**
“Thanks.” Gabrielle murmured, as the guard carefully deposited the tray in the outer chamber. “Wow, that’s a lot.”
The guard, an older man with a thin scar crossing his face from eye to jawline, smiled briefly. “Her maj asked for a double, didn’t she?”
“Well, yes.”
“S’what you got.” The guard dusted his hands off and slipped out of the room, leaving Gabrielle to deal with the assorted dishes.
“Mm.” She sniffed appreciatively. “I don’t think I can leave any of this behind.” She took hold of the handles, and managed to lift the tray. “Boah!” A grunt forced it’s way out. “Let’s hope I don’t end up tossing it across the room.”
Carefully, she maneuvered through the outer chamber, and was glad of the fact that she’d left the inner door a little open. She nudged it with her foot, then ducked inside the inner chamber and somehow made it to the worktable without spilling anything.
“Ah.” Xena turned her head as the girl set the tray down. Gabrielle was outlined in candlelight as she stood by the window. What was that term she’d heard once? Easy on the eyes. She’d never really figured out what that meant, but now she suspected it meant that you could look at someone a lot and not get tired of it. “Is that lamb I smell?”
“Chops.” Gabrielle confirmed.
“Bother you?” Xena asked.
The blond girl looked up from her task. “Bother me what?”
“Eating lamb chops. You being brought up a shepherd.”
“Um.. no.” Gabrielle brought a plate over to her, and set it gingerly down on the bedside table. “Lambs look really cute, but they’re not.” She explained. “They bite you every chance they get. So I never minded eating them, though we usually didn’t, unless… um..”
“One croaked.” Xena eased over onto her side and examined the plate with little interest. “Yeah.” She picked up a chop by the bone and bit into it, chewing stolidly. “Are you joining me or are you just going to sit there?”
Gabrielle hesitated. “I wasn’t sure w… “ She frowned.
“Gabrielle, there is no protocol for how to eat with the queen while she’s lying in bed and you’re sitting on the floor next to her so forget it and just get some damn chops.” Xena told her testily.
The blond girl rose without a sound and walked to the tray.
Xena nibbled on her lambchop as she watched Gabrielle take dinner for herself. “I don’t have much of an appetite, so you’d better make up for it.” She told her. “Otherwise talk’ll start downstairs.”
Gabrielle paused, and peeked over her shoulder.
Xena merely lifted her eyebrows.
“Okay.” Gabrielle returned and settled back down on the floor cross legged, balancing a full plate on her lap. She fiddled with a long, blanched bean for a moment, finally picking it up and biting into it. “You have really good cooks.”
“Have to be.” Xena neatly removed the last shreds of meat from one chop, placed it back on the plate, and selected another. “First thing an army starts to bitch about is the food. Doesn’t pay to start trouble.”
“Is that why you give the slaves the same food?”
“Uh huh.” Xena watched her. “It’s a bitch of a life, and damned uncomfortable, but not by much over what it was for them before.”
“But you’re not free.” Gabrielle gazed earnestly at her.
Xena’s lips twitched wryly. “No one is.” She said. “Think about it. Is Bregos? Are those damn fawning nobles? Is the army? No one is, Gabrielle. Everybody is enslaved by something at some point.”
Gabrielle had never thought about it that way. She pondered a moment, then looked up.“Even you?”
The blue eyes widened, and sharpened a touch. “Me?”
Gabrielle nodded. “You said everybody… does that include you?” She nibbled at a bone.
Xena took the time to examine the question, glad at least that the discussion was taking her mind off the pain in her back. It had been a very long time since she’d had anyone to just sit around and talk to, who wasn’t constantly on their guard and wary of every word.
It felt insanely good, and she really had no idea why. Maybe it was just boredom.
“I’m the only one who controls me.” Xena finally said. “And I like it that way.”
Gabrielle chewed her lamb slowly, thinking in her own turn. “I think I’ve had to make more of my own choices since I’ve been here than I have in my whole life before.” She said, a soft note of surprise in her voice. “Weird.”
“So.. are you freer now, as a slave, than you were as a free peasant?”
Gabrielle put her bone down and frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“No.” Xena took a breath, as a sharp stab of pain jolted her. “But it’s true, and you know it.” She pushed her plate away a little. “What’s in that jug?”
Seeing the tense lines of pain on Xena’s face, Gabrielle set her plate down and scrambled to her feet, going over to the table. She sniffed the contents. “Mead.”
“Ahh.” Xena could already taste the honey. “Bring it over.”
Gabrielle filled a big cup and brought it to her, blinking a little at the strong, spicy scent of the drink. “Wow.”
Xena took a sip, rolling it around in her mouth before she swallowed. “Nice.” She murmured. “First batch of the year.. didn’t think it was ready yet.” She glanced at Gabrielle, who had settled back down to the carpet and picked her plate back up. “Here. Try it.” She extended the cup.
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