“Bet this is worse..” Xena chuckled evilly, reaching down and tickling her behind the knees.
“Auggghh!” Gabrielle confirmed it with a tortured holler. “Eeeyoooo!!!!!” She twisted and curled up, then reached behind the queen’s leg to get her back. “Ah!”
“Why, you little…” Xena started laughing, this time much harder, and with some abandon. “I’ll get you for that! You won’t be able to stand up when I’m done with you!” She flipped Gabrielle over onto her back and pinned her legs down, then attacked her ribs.
The girl let out a yell that made Xena’s eyes pop wide open. She quickly leaned over and kissed her to prevent a repeat, her mischevious fingers slowing their motion and moving from teasing to seductive. When she lifted her head, she looked down at Gabrielle’s face, the girl’s eyes now closed and her mouth sporting a grin.
Xena circled Gabrielle’s navel with the tip of her finger, and felt the surface start to rock as she chuckled. The misty green eyes opened and gazed up at her. They smiled at each other.
Then the girl got a hand free and got to Xena’s ribs again. “Geerrrrrr!!!” Xena wriggled away, rolling onto her side to escape. She tangled her limbs with Gabrielle’s and they fought for skin space, reducing each other to an unexpected ball of laughter in the center of the bed.
Xena let the chuckles work their way out of her, feeling pleasantly tired from the unfamiliar exercise. She wrapped her arms and legs around her new little bedmate and pulled her close, with a sense of pure, animal content alien in it’s sudden presence.
She had a vague suspicion she might actually be happy.
For the moment, anyway.
**
“Not that stairwell.” Xena pointed to the main one instead. “I hate it. Damn thing’s too small, and it stinks.” She lead the way across the round hall, neatly flicking the folds of her long robe out of her path. The storm had kept up outside, and a damp draft was blowing through the stronghold, fluttering the torches in their iron sconces on the wall.
Gabrielle was glad to follow her. She looked around her as she walked down the grand staircase, absorbing the grandeur of the narrow, woven tapestries on the wall that alternated with iron columns and the occasional slit window. “This is nice.”
“It’s a stair.” Xena glanced around.
“Well, it’s much nicer than the stair I know.” Gabrielle amended, with a smile. And certainly much wider. Six men could walk abreast up the steps and not touch, she reckoned.
“Ahh… That’s right. You didn’t get the snooty tour, didja?” Xena said. “Well. I can fix that.”
“I don’t think I got any tour. Stanislaus warned me not to wander.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Xena muttered. “Can’t have the slaves sightseeing in all the nooks and crannies, can we? Might find a hole to hide in.”
Gabrielle looked at her, not really sure of what the tone or content of her words meant. She wasn’t sure if Xena was making fun of the slaves, or making fun of Stanislaus and his rules, or what. There was truth in the statement, she knew, though. Given a chance, anyone she’d met downstairs, who wasn’t in a position like Stanislaus, or cook’s, would gladly escape into a hidey hole if they could. “Hm.” She grunted. “Well, you could always treat them better.”
Xena looked at her.
Gabrielle shrugged slightly. “I mean, you could make them want to be here. Like you said, life is pretty tough outside. I think maybe if people made the choice to trade their freedom for a place to live and lots of good food, they’d work a lot better.”
“Gabrielle, you’ve obviously lived your whole life on a sheep farm. Nobody wants to be a slave.” The queen added a bit of a grin to soften the mean words. “Voluntary servitude.. do you see the contradiction there?”
“Yes, I do.” Gabrielle skipped a step to keep up with Xena’s long strides, admiring her companions’ proud, erect posture and graceful walk. “But…like you were saying the other day, isn’t everyone really a slave to something? I mean, look at the army.”
“They’re not slaves.” Xena stated firmly.
“No, but they agree to work for you, and die for you, don’t’ they?”
“For a fee, sure. For board, food, and cash.” Xena said. “It’s not slavery, it’s a job.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle glanced up, to see huge banners crossing the roof they were walking under. “Can they just stop and leave?”
No answer. Gabrielle looked over at the queen, who was watching her with hooded eyes. “Can they?”
Xena looked away as they reached the bottom of the steps, giving the two guards standing there a brief nod. They braced to attention and put a hand over their chests, keeping their eyes straight forward. She indicated a long, grand hallway leading off to the right and started down it, remaining silent until they had passed the first set of closed, ornate wooden doors set into deep alcoves on either side. “I’m not fond of deserters.” She finally said. “Most of the men know that.”
Gabrielle absorbed the words. “Okay, so..”
“Gabrielle.” Xena stopped walking, and turned to her. “This conversation is done.” Her tone dropped into uncompromising seriousness.
The slave paused and returned her gaze for a moment. She took a breath. “All right.”
Xena turned and resumed walking. After several minutes of silence, she glanced behind her, to where Gabrielle was quietly following, her head bent slightly and her eyes fastened on the stone floor. The slave’s words had nettled her, and she’d come close to letting her temper loose on the kid.
Maybe Gabrielle knew that. Xena studied the slave’s profile out of the corner of her eye. Besides, she was talking nonsense. Xena didn’t have time to listen to nonsense.
So… you were asking for a story about pigs….why? Her annoying conscience spoke up suddenly. To gain.. valuable data about the husbandry skills of the far western peasants in case you decide to invade them, right?
Xena almost booted her conscience out the nearest slit window. Shut up. She ordered it. That was different.
“I’m sorry, did you ask me something?” Gabrielle spoke up, in low tone.
“No.” Xena replied gruffly.
“Oh. Sorry.”
They continued walking along. After a bit, Gabrielle straightened up, squaring her shoulders back and lifting her chin.
Xena kept a corner of her eye on the kid. They entered the big hall that opened up to the dining chambers on one side, and the sloping ramp down to the kitchen on the other. She stopped just inside the door, and reached out to take hold of Gabrielle’s shoulder.
The blond woman stopped and waited.
“I remember the first time I stepped inside this place.” The queen spoke in a quiet voice. “I’d just conquered the previous king’s army, and beheaded the bastard on the field.”
Gabrielle turned and looked at her.
“I was covered in blood.. in dirt, in horse crap, you name it.” Xena went on. “And I came in here, through that door..” She pointed to the huge, double hung portal. “After fifteen years of having no home at all, now I had this.” She moved closer and draped her arm over Gabrielle’s shoulders. “I had to figure out a way to keep it. Some of the things I did were cruel, and they were meant to scare people so badly they’d just do what I said and not question.”
Gabrielle relaxed a trifle, hearing the words under the words.
“A lot of men died getting me this.” Xena looked at her with utter seriousness. “I’m not making any changes that are gonna risk losing it.”
Gabrielle took a breath. “Wasn’t what I meant.” She replied softly. “I want to make it stronger for you. I want people to look at you, and feel happy to be here.” A pause. “Like I am.”
Xena felt the hitch in her breathing as she got caught in that gentle regard. “It’s.. a nice thought.” She said. “But it’s never gonna happen, kid.” She gave her head a little shake, and jerked her chin towards the ramp. “C’mon. Let’s go see what trouble we can get into.”
After a brief hesitation, Gabrielle decided to table her argument for the moment. She put her arm around Xena’s waist and walked along side her, holding back a tiny smile as she felt Xena pull her a little closer, almost as if in comfort. Experimentally, she gave the queen a squeeze, and saw a smile appear on her face. “Xena?”
“Mm?”
“I’m sorry I made you angry. I didn’t mean to.. I just wanted you to think about what I was saying.”
The queen exhaled. “I wasn’t angry.” She said. “I was almost angry, but you didn’t quite get me there. Maybe next time.” She released Gabrielle as they reached the ramp, twitching her robe straight as she approached the entrance.
Two guards on either side of the hall snapped to attention as she came even with them. She lifted a hand and they relaxed, their eyes following Gabrielle’s slighter form with interest as she trotted after the queen.
This hall was smaller than the upper ones, but it was still far grander than the kitchen tunnels. Gabrielle noticed long trestle tables tucked against the walls on either side and she reached out to run her fingers over one as they passed.
Staging areas, she remembered, where trays of food and drink were poised for delivery to the banqueting hall on the half level above. Ahead of her, she could smell the kitchen, smoke from the fires and the scent of roasting meat foremost. Dinner smelled like beef, and even though they’d had a nice sized lunch, her stomach was growling at the thought.
Gabrielle sighed.
“Is that you?” Xena chuckled. “I’m gonna have the healer check you for worms.” She ruffled Gabrielle’s hair affectionately. “We’d better get something easy for you to cook. Don’t want you passing out from hunger or anything.”
They entered the kitchen. Eyes went to them in startled surprise, then most of the staff either bowed or dropped to their knees.
Xena paused, framed in the doorway, and put her hands on her hips. She surveyed the kitchen with a pair of very icy blue eyes. She could see signs of faint neglect in the corners, and a sense of displeasure settled itself squarely in her guts. With cold deliberation, she stalked across the room and went to the spits, studying them carefully.
Then she turned and pinned the cook with a glare. “When were those cleaned last?”
“Mm… majesty?” The cook clasped her hands over her ample chest. “O..only this last week.. it’s just we’ve been so busy and…”
Xena crossed the kitchen and took hold of the woman’s hair, pulling her head up and back so she was forced to meet the queen’s eyes. “Too busy to make sure we don’t all die of poison and dirt?” She growled. “I think you’ve got your priorities wrong.” She flexed her other hand and closed her fingers around her dagger, already aiming for a spot under the woman’s chin. “And frankly, I’m sick of your food.”
Gabrielle knew she only had seconds. She bolted across the floor and got up next to Xena, threading an arm through the queen’s knife wielding one and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Your majesty.” She pleaded. “Remember the games. It’s been very hectic.”
Xena had frozen when Gabrielle touched her, there, in the middle of the kitchen in front of all the slaves. Fortunately, her body had gone still instead of reacting and that, that alone was what saved Gabrielle’s life. She turned her eyes on the blond woman and let the rage surface.
Gabrielle didn’t look away. “It was.” She shrugged a tiny bit. “But I’ll stay here and clean it.”
That brought Xena out of her paralysis. “The Hades you will.” She got out in a clipped tone, before she turned back to the cook. “I will be back down here tomorrow morning. If there is one speck of dirt in this place, you’ll die, and fill your spot with one of the cows from the stockyard.”
The woman’s jaw trembled.
Xena released her, wiping her hand on the woman’s chemise with an expression of distaste. Then she focused her attention on Gabrielle, who was still clinging to her arm.
Gabrielle released her, and stepped back, watching her face. Then she waited.
Xena realized suddenly that the girl fully expected her to hit her. That she’d chosen her course of action knowing that the result was going to be punishment, and pain. Her hand clenched into a fist, and she watched Gabrielle’s eyes close and her brow tense involuntarily. The queen had every right to do it, Xena knew that, and she knew not only did she have the right, it was expected of her.
And yet, she couldn’t. She let a breath out with an explosive sigh and turned away. Damn it.
Damn it.
She turned back to find Gabrielle watching her with an quiet, warm… unfathomable look. It made her shiver, because things were happening inside her guts she didn’t even begin to understand.
DAMN IT.
**
Xena was really upset. Gabrielle sat quietly by the fire, laying out the things the queen had picked out and deciding what to do with them. Behind her, Xena was pacing back and forth, her agitated tension so apparent it was making Gabrielle’s teeth ache just listening to her.
It made her anxious, she realized, and she gazed unhappily at an onion as she felt her stomach tie itself into knots. Part of that was because she knew she’d done something, several somethings, that had really angered Xena, and outside of being scared of what the queen might do, she found herself unexpectedly hurting to have lost the relaxed companionship they’d shared only hours earlier.
Absurdly, she felt like crying and it had nothing to do with the onion. It was like the time she’d broken her mother’s old mixing dish, the one she’d had from her own mother. It had been an accident, but Gabrielle had seen the grief in her mother’s eyes, and she’d known there was nothing she could do to bring the shattered bowl back.
That was how she felt, like she had the shattered pieces of something she’d only just begun to know in her hands, with no way to put them back together again and make them whole.
It made her sad.
With a sigh, she put the vegetable down and pulled a tray over. It contained two large fish, their blank eyes glaring balefully at her in the firelight. Fish weren’t something she’d had a lot of experience with, since the only stream close by Potadeia had served the village for everything and the fish tended to keep their distance.
Once in a while, though, her father had traded some mutton, or a skein of wool for the occasional string of trout and she’d seen her mother carefully preparing them. So now, she studied the fish, trying to decide whether to filet them or not.
A slight crash made her jump. She turned, to find Xena sprawled in one of the big chairs, her head resting against her fist, a sullen, dour look on her face. Cold blue eyes were fastened on Gabrielle, and she knew if she tried to filet anything under that gaze, she’d end up losing a thumb at least.
Well, Gabrielle.. you got yourself into this. You got her mad. Now go do something about it. Gabrielle gathered her courage and wiped her hands off, then she got to her feet and approached Xena’s faintly twitching form. The queen’s eyes followed her as she took the next seat and folded her hands in her lap.
“Problem?” Xena asked, sharply.
It was as though they’d never been close at all. Gabrielle had to stop, and swallow a huge lump that formed in her throat.
“Well?” The queen barked.
No. Gabrielle felt the pain all the way down into her soul. The bowl was broken. She got up without a word and went back to the fire, kneeling down next to the fish and picking up the small, rounded blade she’d set down before. Tears fell from her eyes onto the wooden trencher, darkening it as she quietly worked, her own breathing sounding harsh in her ears.
She heard Xena get up, but she kept her back to the queen and her head down even when she felt Xena’s close presence at her back.
And then she almost slipped and cut herself when the queen took a seat right next to her on the ground. She chanced a peek, and found Xena’s face so caught in turmoil it was hard to look away.
So she didn’t. She sat back on her heels and wiped her forearm over her eyes and sniffled.
Xena picked up a bean and threw it viciously into the fire, watching the sparks snap up from it. She picked up another and repeated the motion, her lips writhing into a snarl.
Well. Gabrielle slowly went back to her task. She wondered why Xena had traded her comfortable chair for the floor. It didn’t seem like she wanted to stop Gabrielle from what she was doing, or talk to her, or even just watch the fire.
So why was she there?
With a faint shake of her head, Gabrielle decided to stuff the fish, and roast them. She neatly slit the bellies open and removed the insides, cleaning them carefully with hands that almost didn’t shake under the queen’s dour stare.
Then she took bits of the vegetables she’d cut and put them inside the fish, along with several handfuls of grain before she wrapped each fish in a piece of wet parchment and tucked them into the side of the fire to cook.
Okay. Gabrielle cleaned up her tray and stood, taking it over to the sideboard table. She wiped her hands off and turned her head, watching the still figure next to the fire. Some of the anger seemed to have subsided, but she could see Xena’s hand, resting on her knee, clenching and unclenching.
She squared her shoulders and walked back to the fire, sitting down cross legged next to the queen.
For a few moments, they both merely watched the flames. Then Gabrielle turned her head and looked at the sullen profile next to her. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Very slowly, the queen tipped her head to one side and glared at her. “What?”
Something clicked. “Do you want to talk about it, or do you just want to get out your sword and cut my head off, like the others.” Gabrielle had to force the last few words out. “Or just throw me down the stairs. That’ll probably do it and it won’t make a mess in here my replacement will just have to clean up.”
She had no idea where her fear had gone to. She only knew it had been replaced by a manic courage, and the intense need to break through that icy gaze to find the flickering glimpse of a friend she’d seen before.
Briefly, Xena stared at her. Then the long, dark lashes fluttered closed and she let her head rest on her arm, her body going very still.
The tacit need made Gabrielle reach out and put a hand on the queen’s shoulder, surprised when she felt a shiver in the skin at her touch. “Xena.” She spoke in a low voice.
The sound vibrated inside her, and Xena had all she could do not to respond to it. Her chest felt like it was being pulled apart, the ache so intense it made her bite the inside her lip until it bled. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to lash out and destroy this thing that was making her confused, and unsure, and knocking her as offbalance as she’d ever been in her life.
And yet, her body was leaning into the warm touch on her shoulder and wanting much more. The animal part of her, usually so reliable, was shedding it’s fierce exterior and responding in completely unexpected ways, circumventing her will with stubborn persistence.
She felt Gabrielle’s arm slide around her shoulders, and then the pressure as the kid leaned her head against her upper arm.
And Xena broke. She released her anger, and accepted the comfort Gabrielle was offering, feeling the tight wound tension in her unwind as she gave her body what it was demanding.
The touch. Gabrielle stroked the side of her face as she leaned her head against the slaves. Xena stopped fighting it and admitted to herself, finally, that she’d broken her first, and most important rule. The one pledge she’d made to herself after Lyceus died, and she’d sealed herself off from the rest of humanity.
“Listen… I’m…. I know.. I did something really stupid, and I know you’re really mad at me for it… but… Xena, I just…”
“I know.” Xena closed her eyes and whispered. “You just did what you thought was right.”
Gabrielle exhaled softly. “Yes.” She admitted. “I… know what you do to people who do that to you.” She swallowed audibly. “And.. I don’t blame you if you..”
“Gabrielle.” Xena felt peacefully exhausted. “Shut up. I can’t kill you.”
The slave fell silent.
“I can’t even hardly yell at you. I could no more toss you down the stairs than I could fly over the moon in my underwear.” Xena felt Gabrielle shift slightly, and she knew the kid was looking up at her, probably from under those adorable, shaggy blond bangs.
“Oh.” Gabrielle said, very unoriginally. “Um.”
“Besides… Hades. Maybe you were right.” Xena went on. “My army.. the first one I had, holed up in a cave during the first winter after I got them together. I didn’t know my ass from a hole in the rocks about how to run things, and I lost most of them to the scour because I didn’t have sense to keep the place clean.”
“Oh.”
“All those bodies.” Xena went on quietly. “I can still smell the death… hear the screams.” Her voice was distant. “Hades of a way to learn a lesson, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle was silent for a bit. “I’m sorry.”
“So was I. Armies are hard to come by.” The queen remarked. “Gabrielle, I may act like a bloodthirsty lunatic most of the time, but occasionally there’s a reason behind it.”
Another bit of silence. “Then why did you stop down there?”
Ah, now there was the point of it. “Because you wanted me to.” Xena replied with startling honesty. “And that stopped me just long enough for me to think twice about what I was doing.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t like thinking twice, Gabrielle.” The queen said. “It’s dangerous.”
Gabrielle could feel the pressure of Xena’s cheek against the top of her head, and despite the queen’s words, she showed no signs of wanting to move away. Gabrielle didn’t feel like moving away either, and she reasoned that was a good sign. Xena’s words troubled her, and made her think hard about a lot of things, and most of all about how the world was never a black and white place.
Not anymore, anyway. “I’m sorry.” She repeated softly.
“Me too.” Xena replied. “Because it made me realize something even more dangerous.” She exhaled heavily.
“What?” Gabrielle asked, trying to imagine the answer.
“That I’m in love with you.”
Not even in her wildest, spiced vegetable induced nightmares could she have imagined that answer. Gabrielle felt her eyes pop wide open and she stared past Xena’s knee at the fire in utter surprise. “Bft.” A tiny snort escaped from her throat.
“Mm. Irony, thy name is Xena.” The queen mused. The danger drew itself in black and white images, stark in her inner vision. A wry smile appeared on her face, and she shifted, circling Gabrielle with her arm and accepting, at last, what had happened to her.
It was all she could do, anyway. Against this, against the power and the intensity of what she felt for this little scrap of a shepherd’s kid, she was helpless as a newborn and she knew it. The danger would come soon enough – for now, she might as well experience the joy it offered.
The future would take care of itself.
**
Gabrielle poked the fish experimentally, judging it almost done. It was very quiet in the room, and the fire sounded loud to her.
Almost as loud as Xena’s breathing, warming the outer edge of her left ear. The queen had wrapped herself around Gabrielle and was resting her chin on her shoulder. It was like wearing a living cloak, but keeping her mind off that living cloak was making dinner preparations somewhat precarious.
She hardly even knew why she was trying to keep her mind off it, except that it seemed a shame to burn such nice fish. Gabrielle had realized some minutes ago that she wasn’t hungry, she didn’t care about dinner, and there was so much jumbled emotion running through her body she doubted she’d even be able to swallow.
Xena’s arms were clasped loosely around her waist, and her legs were circling Gabrielle’s as they both sat on the floor in front of the fire. The queen’s eyes were mostly closed, and she seemed to just be enjoying the closeness as much as Gabrielle was.
She loves me. Gabrielle felt like singing. She felt like bouncing in her place, and wriggling with happiness, but she was afraid she’d disturb Xena’s sleepy peace if she did more than just grin. It was an incredible, and very unexpected turn of events after the tension of the last while.
“Is it food yet?” Xena’s low rumble tickled her ear.
“I think so, yes.” Gabrielle replied. She turned her head and found herself nose to nose with the queen. Feeling bold, she tilted her chin and gave Xena a kiss on the lips, feeling the soft surface move as Xena smiled. Pausing, she backed off a little to gauge the queen’s reaction to her audacity.
Xena leaned back and pulled her backwards until she was laying half in the queen’s lap. Then Xena returned the kiss with leisurely passion.
Oo. Nice reaction. Gabrielle gazed up at the dark haired woman as she lifted her head, grinning at her and letting some of the happiness she felt inside her show.
Xena’s eyes brightened visibly.
The ice was gone, Gabrielle realized. She lifted her hand and stroked Xena’s cheek, seeing all the way through the queen’s expressive blue orbs and into her soul. The person she found looking back at her wasn’t what she’d expected, the vulnerability and openness surprised her.
But Xena blinked, almost as though she realized, and then winked at her as she indicated the fireplace. “If it’s food, let’s eat it.” She said. “Grab it, and bring it to the table out there. I’ll get something we can drink with it.” She dipped her head and kissed Gabrielle again, nibbling her lips and gently exploring with her tongue. “Sound like a plan?”
The tip of Gabrielle’s tongue appeared as she regarded Xena. “I think that sounds great.” She agreed.
“Good.” Xena hoisted her up. She stood and stretched, then shook herself and walked from the bedroom into the outer chamber, leaving Gabrielle to retrieve the two fragrant packets of hopefully cooked fish.
Gabrielle wiped the sweat from her forehead, suddenly wishing the window were open a little to let some cool air in. She set the wooden trencher down and got to business. The packets were emitting steam, so she carefully eased them from the coals to the trencher, keeping her fingers out of the way as she opened them.
Oo. They smelled good, at least. Gabrielle peeked inside, pleased at the condition of her masterpieces. With a grin, she picked up the trencher and carried it to the door, slipping through it into the outer chamber.
She halted at the sight of the table set with flickering candles and sparkling crystal goblets. Xena appeared with a tall bottle, holding it to the light and looking into it’s golden depths, as she casually motioned the slave over. “Oh.”
Xena paused in the middle of opening the bottle, and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, what?” She asked. “C’mere.”
Gabrielle walked over and set the trencher down. “It’s so pretty.” She indicated the table. “How did you do that so fast?”
“I.” Xena gracefully filled her goblet, then tipped the bottle to fill Gabrielle’s. “Have many skills.”
“Hm.” Gabrielle eased the trencher to the middle of the table. “I think I knew that already.”
“Oh, really?” The queen chuckled easily. “Get those things open and let’s see what we’ve got.”
Gabrielle opened the parchment and folded it back, exposing the tasty smelling fish. She slid one off onto the china plate in front of Xena’s big seat, then put the remaining, smaller one on her own.
“Hey.” Xena seemed to be in a very playful mood. “You gave me the big one.”
“Well.” Gabrielle tucked the parchment back onto the trencher. “You are the queen.” She met Xena’s eyes, and returned the grin. “And you are bigger than I am.”
Xena put her hands on her hips and regarded the slave. “Ain’t that the truth.” She said, giving her head a little shake as she walked around behind Gabrielle’s chair and pulled it out. Then she waited.
Gabrielle looked at the chair, then at her, unsure of what was going on.
“Sit.” Xena told her.
Cautiously, Gabrielle edged in front of the seat, very surprised when it was pushed under her and she ended up sitting down abruptly. “Oh!” She looked over her shoulder at Xena, who still had her hands on the chair back. “Why did you do that?”
Xena leaned her forearms on the wood and half smiled. “Because it’s what you do for women you care for.” She said. “It’s.. um… polite.” She took her seat and lifted her glass, it’s crystal depths colored deep amber with the rich mead she’d poured into it. “You like this.”
Gabrielle picked up her own glass and sniffed it. “Oh, yes.” She smiled. “I did. You’re right.”
Xena extended her glass towards Gabrielle. “Here’s to us, then.”
Us. Gabrielle suddenly felt different. She felt different because as she looked into Xena’s eyes, she knew the queen was seeing her differently, and it was a very nice change. She touched the edge of her glass to Xena’s. “Here’s to us.” She repeated softly.
They drank, watching each other through the candlelight. Gabrielle straightened a little in her chair, resisting the urge to fuss with her disordered blond locks. She put her goblet down, feeling the pleasant burn as the mead worked it’s way down into her stomach. “Would you like to hear the rest of the pig story?”
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