The slave nodded. “Some of the guys tried to come in here and do it but.. um..I kind of chased them out.” She issued a light shrug. “I think they got mad at me.”
Xena found herself unable to come up with even the mildest smart remark. “They used to fight each other for the… ah… honor of setting up my tent.” She explained, with a touch of sheepishness in her voice. “I thought they’d…” She looked around. “Huh.”
“Oh.” Gabrielle also looked around. “Did I do okay?”
The queen spotted a clean set of clothes folded ready on the bed, and her soap and towel ready by a filled basin of water braced on a folding stool. “It’s perfect.” She murmured. “How did you know?”
The slave exhaled audibly. “Thanks.” She set a small pot on the brazier and carefully poured water into it, over the things already inside. “I just… put things where I would want them if I were coming home to some place like this after a really… really long day.”
Xena studied her.
“I know I’d want a nice bed, and clean clothes.” The slave went on. “A place to wash up.. you know.”
“Yeah.” Xena agreed softly. She watched the slave stir the pot’s contents. “Gabrielle, they’re making dinner outside.”
“I know.” Gabrielle put in a last handful of ingredients. “But it won’t be ready for a while.. I thought maybe you’d like some soup after you change until then.”
Xena looked into the pot, then she looked at her slave. “You like this stuff?”
Gabrielle hesitated, then nodded.
“You sore?”
“A little.” Gabrielle admitted, with a tiny, wry smile. “Not as bad with Patches.”
“All right.” Xena stood up, her battle plan settled. “Here’s what you’re going to do next.”
Gabrielle folded her hands on her knee and waited in silence. She was, in truth, exhausted and her body ached from head to foot. But the changes around Xena, the dynamics of the men, and the army, and the strange surroundings were making her fearful and nervous and she wasn’t about to complain to the queen about anything.
Xena extended her hand. “You’re gonna c’mover here and get naked with me so we can wash.”
Hm. Gabrielle’s ears perked up. She reached up and took Xena’s hand, and stood as the queen pulled her up. “Okay.”
“Then you’re going to… “ Xena leaned closer, catching the edge of Gabrielle’s ear in her teeth and lightly biting down. “Tell me where it hurts, so I can fix it.”
Oo. Everything else perked up, chasing away the day’s fatigue and worry. Gabrielle felt herself relaxing, understanding that so far, at least, she was doing things right. However, her conscience bothered her. “Don’t you have… um.. more important stuff to do? Like with the camp?”
“Yes.” Xena told her, sliding her arms around Gabrielle’s body and pulling her close. “And I’ll do them, but I’m an instant gratification kinda gal, and right now, I want to be gratified. Instantly.” She kissed Gabrielle on the lips. “So get your clothes off, you little muskrat, or I’ll rip em off with my teeth.”
“But.. what about…”
“Shh.” Xena silenced her with another kiss. “We gotta work on that ‘I’m the queen and what I say goes’ thing.”
Gabrielle really wasn’t about to argue. After all, if Xena didn’t know what she was doing, who did? She undid the buckle on her belt as Xena guided her over to the water basin she’d so recently filled. The queen’s hands slid over her body, fingers touching and gently massaging the sore spots on her back as she felt the shirt lifted over her head.
The strange sounds outside faded. Gabrielle slid the crimson shirt off Xena’s body and stepped closer, nuzzling her breasts as their skins lightly brushed. She heard the soft tinkle of water, then the cool touch of it on her shoulders. Her eyes opened, to see Xena’s, darkened in the firelight, watching her. “I think I’m supposed to be doing that to you.” She reminded the queen.
“I think you should just do what I tell you to do.” Xena rinsed the cloth and continued her task, removing the dust of their days travel and the soot from the burned village from Gabrielle’s pale skin. The slave’s ribs expanded under her touch, but she didn’t answer.
Xena took her time exploring. She let her fingers travel over the bump on the blond woman’s ribs, and with their eyes locked, found herself curious about it once again. “What’s that from?”
Gabrielle’s expression became sad. “Someone kicked me.” She admitted in a soft voice.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Xena washed down the centerline of Gabrielle’s belly, noting that the almost painful concavity had started to fill in a little. “Was it someone you knew?”
“Yes.”
Xena rinsed out the towel again and carefully cleaned around Gabrielle’s neck, forcing the slave to look up at her when she scrubbed her jaw. “Tell me who it was, and I’ll go kill em for ya.”
Gabrielle’s expression was indescribable. “Would you?”
“Sure.” The queen replied.
The slave exhaled. “Well, it was a while ago, and there’s no point. He’s already gone.”
“Bummer.” Xena cradled her head, and tilted her own down to give Gabrielle a gentle kiss. “Sorry about that. Getting kicked isn’t any fun, no matter who does it.” She guided Gabrielle’s hand to a place on her own side, tracing a spot where there was a depression in the bone of one of her ribs. “Feel that?”
“Yes.” Gabrielle stroked the spot. “Did you get that fighting?”
“No.” Xena “That’s from a goat.”
The slave smothered a surprised laugh. “Really?”
“No.” The queen wiped off her face, dampening the fair hair with the water. “But I figured it’d make you laugh.” She admitted. “I got kicked in the gut by some guy in Cortese’s pits, after I first got captured by him. Hurt like Hades.”
“Yeah.” Gabrielle looked up at her. “It does.” She touched the spot on Xena’s side. “But you get over it.” She leaned forward and kissed the skin there, her hair brushing the underside of Xena’s breast.
Xena inhaled, as her body reacted. They were both standing there in only their leggings and boots, and she suddenly had a mental image of what would happen if someone were stupid enough to open the tent flap.
It made her laugh, with sudden and explosive force.
Gabrielle glanced up at her, then experimentally tickled her on the side, near the spot.
Xena laughed again, this time for a totally different reason. “Hey!” She caught Gabrielle’s hand. “Save that for later.” She instructed. “Turn around.”
Obediently, Gabrielle did
The queen washed across her shoulderblades, seeing for the first time the faintest traces of thin, diagonal scars, old and very faded with time. With a slight frown, she put the towel over her shoulder and applied her hands instead, working her fingers over the tense muscles.
Gabrielle’s head dropped forward, and she exhaled in relief.
Xena finished, then stepped up behind her and circled her with both arms, pressing their bodies together as she suckled at Gabrielle’s neck, nibbling carefully around up to her jawline as she slid her hands up the slave’s torso and gently traced her breasts.
“You…” Gabrielle’s voice sounded husky. “Have really amazing hands.”
“Only my hands?” Xena purred, releasing her hold so Gabrielle could turn in her arms and face her again. “Now you get to wash me, since I stink like an old horse blanket.”
With a smile, Gabrielle removed the towel from Xena’s shoulder and rinsed it out.
“Besides, the fun part comes next.” Xena added, reaching out to slide a finger inside the waistband of Gabrielle’s leggings and tugging it. “We’ll see if the boys remembered Xena’s rule number two.”
Gabrielle set to work, using more than the towel. “What’s that?”
For a moment, the queen was speechless. Then she caught her breath. “No knocking when the tent’s rocking.” She chuckled softly, throwing caution to the winds.
Hoping like Hades they really did remember.
**
Part 16
Xena stood just inside the entrance to her tent, looking out. Despite the fact that it was, by her internal clock, dawn, there was barely enough light for her to see across the campsite. Dark gray clouds had gathered during the night and a cold wind blew across her face.
Her nose wrinkled a little, at the strong scent of rain and the dampness that made all the smells around her more vibrant than usual.
“Morning, Mistress.” Brendan had a thick, waxed cloak on. “Been a turn, eh?”
“Certainly has.” Xena agreed. “Traveling's gonna be a bitch today.” She added, mentally reviewing the route. “We’ll be up in the hills by midday... hope it doesn’t turn into snow.”
Brendan grunted. “Ah well, can’t master the weather. Least it was a quiet night.”
Xena’s lips quirked. “Not where I was.”
Her senior captain cleared his throat and looked away. “Aher… cooks’ are workin on getting some breakfast up, but they’ve had a bit of trouble with the fire in t’weather.” He said. “Men are packing up.”
The queen stretched, and then let her hands rest on her hips. “Good.” She nodded. “Sooner we get started, sooner we get through the mountains.”
Brendan nodded. “Send em past here soon’s breakfast done, Mistress. I was going to set things right for you last night, but the little one as chased me out.” The indignation was clear in his voice. “Shame if things weren’t as you liked em.”
Xena gave him a look. “Matter of fact, I thought you had.” She remarked. “Everything was perfect.”
His grizzled eyebrows lifted.
“And she’s a lot cuter than you are.” Xena grinned wickedly. “Just tell everyone when it comes to my gear or my kit – leave it to Gabrielle. She knows what I like.”
Brendan exhaled. “Aye, Mistress.” He gave her a slightly bemused look. “No offense to the little one meant… it’s just…”
“It’s just that the rest were mule fodder I tossed out with the morning bathwater.” Xena cut him off. “Well, this one’s different. Get used to it.”
The older man nodded. “I knew that, Mistress. Just wasn’t thinking.” He said. “I’ll be on m’way – good morning to you, and to the little one.” He turned and ducked past the side of her tent, disappearing into the gray mist.
Xena grunted, then she turned her back on the weather and regarded the interior of her temporary abode, which was warmer, cozier, and definitely a lot fuller of cute blond slaves than the rest of the campsite.
Gabrielle got up from where she’d been kneeling next to the brazier and came over to her, carrying a steaming cup that smelled of berries and ginger. “Thanks for telling him that.” The slave said, handing her the tea.
The queen half shrugged. “It’s just the truth.” She sipped the beverage, and inhaled the steam as her eyes traveled over the slight blond form before her.
Gabrielle had dressed in her sturdy wool tunic, her leggings, and her boots, and with her pale hair brushed back still damp from their mutual morning bath she looked more like a young soldier than a delicious bedmate.
That was all right. Xena wasn’t much into frills at any time and she thought the plain, but well cut clothing flattered her young lover. With an indulgent look, she gave the shoulder of the tunic a slight tug, and then dusted it. “You ready for a long, cold, wet ride?”
Gabrielle grinned slightly. “Can anyone ever be ready for that?” She asked. “I guess the best way to look at it is think... ‘Okay, this is really awful, but it’s going to make a warm dry bed feel really, really good when it’s over.”
The queen chuckled softly.
“I remember one night in winter, when a storm blew the barn door open.” Gabrielle went on, stepping around Xena and starting the process of packing their things up. “All the sheep got out and ran away in the storm. My… father sent me to go find them.”
“You?” Xena had decided standing in the middle of her tent drinking tea while Gabrielle worked wasn’t to her liking. She placed her cup on the table and started to gather her gear.
“Well…” Gabrielle folded up the top layer of furs. “Yeah, I guess because I was the oldest.”
“You were older than your father?” Xena snorted. “Why the Hades didn’t he go??”
The slave was silent for a moment. “I don’t know.” She finally answered. “Anyway, there I was out in the middle of the night, in a storm, looking for sheep. You’d figure that everything being dark, white animals would be pretty obvious, huh??”
Xena studied the shift she was holding, which bore the mingled scents of both of them to her sensitive nose. “Yeah.” She replied briefly. “Easy.”
“Well, it’s not.” Gabrielle said. “It took me hours to find them. When I finally did, where do you think they were?”
Xena looked over her shoulder. “I don’t know. Where?”
“In the barn.” The slave’s eyes twinkled gravely. “They’re not stupid.” She said. “But I was so cold, and so miserable… you know, I just closed the door and stayed in there with them.”
A dark brow twitched. “And let your father stew till morning?”
Gabrielle nodded. “Then I brought them out for everyone to see.”
The queen grinned at her. “You’re not stupid either.” She put her bag down and walked over to Gabrielle, putting her hands on the slave’s shoulders and turning her round. Xena took a breath to speak, then found herself caught in the depths of those green eyes and absorbing the echoes of sadness in them.
Don’t. Xena was almost convinced Gabrielle had actually spoken the word. Don’t ask me.
Well.
Xena hadn’t gotten to be who and what she was by listening to anyone but herself. What was the big deal anyway? She’d seen so much worse. “Your father sounds like a jackass. Was he?”
The slave half shrugged, her shoulder moving under the queen’s touch. “Sometimes, I guess.”
“The times when he kicked you around?” Xena held her gaze steadily.
Gabrielle’s face flushed, and her eyes dropped to one side.
“Don’t tell me you still have some half-assed family loyalty going, Gabrielle. Any louse that would beat his kid and value sheep over them isn’t worth the tug on the heartstrings.” Xena told her in a firm tone. “It’s a damn good thing he’s dead, because if he wasn’t, I’d go find him and make him that way.”
“Why?” Gabrielle lifted her head, her voice husky.
Why? Xena frowned.
“Why would you want to do that? He didn’t do anything to you.” The slave continued. “He… wasn’t bad; he just... lost his temper, that’s all.” She finished softly. “Or he was drunk… didn’t know what he was doing.”
Xena gazed at her with shrewd, cool eyes. “You really believe that?”
Gabrielle stared straight ahead, her lashes blinking slowly. “Yes.” She whispered.
The queen sighed soundlessly. She lifted her hand up and tilted Gabrielle chin, so the green eyes met hers. They looked at each other in silence for several heartbeats. “Well, if you’re dumb enough to believe that, then I guess you’ll believe I’d go knock the bastard off just because he hurt you.”
The slave exhaled.
“Ironic, huh?” Xena produced a faint smile. “Coming from your friendly royal homicidal maniac?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“He raped Lila.” Gabrielle spoke up, unexpectedly.
Xena blinked.
“He said I wasn’t pretty enough.” The slave went on, in a softly reflective voice that was tired, and somehow relieved at the same time. “She was pregnant from it. We just f…found out before we got here.”
Xena blinked again, leaning forward and staring at Gabrielle.
Gabrielle’s lips twisted slightly. “Life just sucks sometimes, huh?”
There were very few times when Xena found herself speechless. This was one of them.
“You know, I still can’t hate him.” The slave admitted. “He was my da.”
And that at last gave Xena the clue she needed, the tiny puzzle piece she’d felt she was missing that let her understand how Gabrielle could so readily love her.
It’s just what the kid did. Loving was in her nature, and the gods only knew what it would take to change that. Xena shook her head a few times. “Y’know, you’re just the damndest little thing.”
Gabrielle glanced towards the tent opening as a roll of thunder rumbled overhead. “Thanks.” She said. “I think.” Her shoulders straightened. “I guess I’d better get moving… huh?”
Xena studied her thoughtfully. Her eyes were evasive, and a tiny pucker had formed on her brow, just above her nose. What could that mean? The queen puzzled over the question. Tentatively, she put her hand against Gabrielle’s cheek, watching closely as her bedmate leaned against the touch unconsciously. Xena rubbed her thumb against the soft skin, and very slowly, the tension around Gabrielle’s mouth eased and her lips twitched upward.
Okay. So far so good. But the pucker was still there. The queen plotted out a tactical assault, and slid her other arm around the slave’s shoulders, pulling her close and giving her a hug. After a brief moment, she felt Gabrielle relax against her and return the hug, her breath warming the skin on Xena’s neck.
Now what?
Xena pondered. Ah. Words. Yeah, she could try a few of those. “You’re right.” She told her slave. “Life does suck sometimes.”
“Mm.” Gabrielle nodded.
More words? “But… ah… “The queen fished gently. “Life sucks a lot less when you’ve got someone you can tell nasty crap to, and get a hug for it.”
She could feel Gabrielle smiling. The muscles of her face moved against Xena’s bare skin, and the slave’s arms tightened around her with something close to enthusiasm.
Hm. Xena tilted her head and peered at Gabrielle’s face. The pucker was gone. There were tears on her cheeks, but she was smiling. The queen added it all up and decided she’d done all right.
Gabrielle sniffled and cleared her throat. “You’re so sweet.” She murmured.
Xena’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Here I am trying to be nice, and that’s what I get for it???” She spluttered. “You little muskrat!”
Thunder rolled overhead again, and the tent swayed as the wind surged against it. Xena cocked her head to one side and listened, not liking what she heard. “Tell you what.” She spoke in a crisp tone. “Hold that thought.” She gave Gabrielle a quick kiss on the head then slapped her on her butt. “That wind’s trouble.”
A horn sounded outside, and they heard horses whickering.
Xena grabbed her cloak. “Keep packing. I’ll be right back.” She ordered, as another surge of wind made the tent flap rattle furiously. “Hopefully.” The queen ducked out the front of the tent and disappeared.
Gabrielle looked at the empty spot she’d been in for a moment, and then she buckled down and got to work.
It was all rote, however. Her thoughts had already left the tent, and trotted after Xena, a smile of wonder chasing after them.
**
The horses were too skittish to ride in the storm. Xena tugged her hood more closely around her head and leaned forward, her left hand tangled in her big mount’s bridle as she slogged her way through the thick, cold mud.
Wasn’t this fun? She found herself grinning as she heard the curses behind her of the men, and behind them, the servants. They really had little choice – there were no places to shelter in and staying in the lowlands with this volume of rain was asking to be caught in a flash flood from the hills.
Besides, a little mud never hurt anyone. She glanced behind her briefly, to where Gabrielle was gamely keeping up with her, the slave’s fingers wrapped firmly around the stirrup flapping empty at the horse’s side.
She was wearing one of Xena’s cloaks, hiked up around her waist to keep the length of it from dragging in the mud and bringing her to a sodden halt. Her hair was damp from the rain, and her face glistened with it but a slight grin was tugging at her lips as well and she appeared to be talking to herself.
Didn’t that just figure? Xena tugged a boot loose from a sucking gop of mud and shook it, then continued on. “Hey.”
Gabrielle looked up at her, the green of her eyes seeming oddly vibrant in the gray landscape.
“Got any interesting stories that aren’t about pigs, sheep, or me?” The queen asked.
“Um...” Gabrielle struggled to keep her balance in the water churned earth. “Well, I guess I can… augh.”
Xena studied her. Then she stopped, making the horse stop, and forgetting to warn Gabrielle who plowed right into her. She draped an arm over the slave’s shoulder and held her hand up. “Hold it!”
Everyone plodded to a halt, so covered in wet and mud she was hard pressed to tell the soldiers from the servants from the horses.
From the mules.
What a mess. “Take a break. Quarter candlemark.” The queen yelled. Then she turned and dropped the big stallion’s reins and slogged off towards a nearby thicket. Halfway to it, she turned and pointed at Gabrielle.” Stay!”
The slave glanced down at her boots, then up at the queen. “Okay, but I think I’m sinking.” She observed, as the mud crept up past her leather covered ankles and advanced on her calves. “Hope you can swim.”
“Can you?” The queen laughed, walking backwards with consummate grace.
Gabrielle raised a hand, and waggled it.
“Typical muskrat.” Xena reached her objective and turned, studying the branches she had available. She spotted the one she wanted and removed her sword from its sheath. “Never thought I’d be using this to do that.” She chopped expertly at the branch until she’d cut it loose from the tree, and then casually stripped the twigs from it as she walked back to the road.
Gabrielle had prudently yanked her boots from the ever encroaching mud and hopped onto a patch of higher ground. She watched Xena as she came closer, using the back of her hand to wipe the rain from her eyes. “Oh.” She said. “Walking stick. What a great idea.”
“Glad you like it.” Xena tossed it to her, not surprised when it bounced off Gabrielle’s hastily raised forearms before the slave managed to snatch it out of mid air. “Since it’s for you.”
“Me?” Gabrielle blinked at the long, slim item.
Xena went to her horse’s side and took out her waterskin, which was in reality a cider skin. She uncapped it and sucked down a mouthful before she answered. “You. Remember I said I’d teach you how to use a stick?”
The slave examined her new acquisition. It was taller than she was, but her hand fit comfortably around it. “I... um... thought you meant a stick stick. Not a fence post.”
The queen leaned closer and spit a mouthful of cider at her. At the last startled moment, Gabrielle stuck her tongue out and caught some, blinking as the rest hit her more or less in the face. “Bah!”
Xena chuckled, putting the cap back on her cider and resting her hands on her saddle. The rain continued an ever-present, cold annoyance that thrummed against her shoulders, but despite all that she found herself to be in a very good mood.
She rested her chin on the covered leather, gazing thoughtfully at her miserable cadre of followers. Then she shifted her eyes to where Gabrielle was examining her big stick. The slave was running her hands over the roughly barked surface, and lifting it, then thumping its end down on the ground.
Of course, the kid had no clue what to do with it. Xena smiled to herself. But she would, before Xena was done with her. “Just hang on to it.” She advised Gabrielle. “Use it to walk with. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle agreed readily. “I like it. I once heard a story about a wizard, who had a stick just like this. Only he called it a staff.”
“A wizard?” Xena gave her a look.
The slave nodded. “Want to hear about it?”
Xena tucked the knowledge that she had a pithy little story in the offing neatly under her heart as she surveyed the rest of the travelers. “Yeah, but save it till we start off again.” She handed the reins to her. “Hang on to him. I’m gonna go check the lines.”
Gabrielle gazed at the strips of wet leather in her hand. “Hang onto you?” She looked quizzically at the big animal. “If you start running, does she really think I’m going to stop you?”
The horse arched his neck around and pushed his muzzle into her belly.
“I’d bounce down the road like a nutty rabbit.” She scratched his ears, tucking her new staff into the crook of her arm. “You’re pretty, you know that?”
The stallion nibbled her belt. Gabrielle leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, then stroked his big, flat cheek. “I always liked horses.” She confided to him. “Way better than sheep.”
The horse snorted.
“Yeah.” Gabrielle agreed. “They made me sneeze like crazy, so I’d escape from them and hide in the horse barn in the afternoon. We had the cleanest horses for a hundred leagues.”
The animal shook his head, and then decided to try lipping the edge of her cloak hood. The slave admired his big, liquid dark eyes as she tickled him on the hollows behind them. She decided his coat was just about the same color as Xena’s hair and imagined how he’d look with her blue eyes.
“Bah.” Gabrielle gave her head a little shake. “That would be just too weird.” She decided, shifting her boots once again out of the mud. The water was running down the road past her, and she could tell there would be little left of the track if the rain kept up except for a small stream. They would be hard pressed to make it up the hill at this rate, and she wondered if Xena had thought about alternatives.
“She probably has.” Gabrielle told the horse. “At least it’s still just rain.”
A cold wind blasted against her, and she yelped as the rain sharpened into a spate of sleet. The horse glared at her, letting out another snort and shifting his hooves.
“Okay... okay... I get the message. Shut up.” The slave whispered into one ear. “Tell you what; I know a great story about a pony. Want to hear it?”
“Gabrielle!”
Gabrielle dodged around the side of the horse, as she was unable to see over him and shaded her eyes from the rain. She spotted Xena’s unmistakable figure not that far off, standing next to a big wagon. “I’m here!” she called back.
“Bring him this way!”
Obligingly, she started back towards the queen, gently tugging the big horse along with her. “C’mon, pretty boy. Let’s go see your mom.”
The horse made a sound that almost caused Gabrielle to trip. She used her new staff to catch her balance, and kept going, smothering a smile as she got closer to Xena’s tall form. “Here he is.” She said, as she came even with the queen. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Xena pointed to a small track almost obscured by the trees. “I found a better route.” She turned. “Mount up! We’re changing course!”
Gabrielle peered past the wagon at the path, which disappeared between heavy foliage. It would cut the wind and rain, she realized, and give them a little shelter. “Ah.” She murmured. “Is it a shortcut?”
“No.” Xena slid around her and took over the reins. “We’ll probably get lost in a bog and end up eating frogs for dinner. Wanna go back?”
“Nope.” Gabrielle followed her. “I like frogs.” She found herself in unexpectedly high spirits. The day before she’d been somewhat unsure of herself, intimidated by the army, and by the travel she just wasn’t used to. But today, on foot, and despite the rain, she felt a lot better.
She had a chance out here, she’d realized, to prove to Xena not only how willing she was to share the queen’s hardships, but how resourceful she could be when faced with the unexpected. After all, she wasn’t stupid, Xena had said so herself, and she welcomed the opportunity to show what she could do other than cook and…
Well.
Cook. Gabrielle felt herself blush, invisibly as it happened, and she tightened her grip on her staff. The stick felt good to hold and as she moved over the very uneven ground, the mud churned up by the wagons to a sticky sludge she used it to keep her balance and feel her way along.
She caught up to Xena as the queen led her horse off the road and onto slight slope, improving the footing immensely already. The idea was sounding better and better every moment, and as the rest of the troops and servants followed them she could hear voices articulating that very thought.
They headed towards the opening in the trees, and passed under the thick branches into a cool, dim path where the rain almost didn’t exist. Gabrielle straightened in relief and pushed her hood down, glad she now could look around her with out impediment.
The sound of the horses and wagons changed from splooching to the soft, regular beat of hooves on dirt and they quickened their pace, glad of dry footing at last. “Wow. Good choice.” Gabrielle said, as she edged up behind Xena’s striding form. “This is great.”
Xena smiled. “Now.” She moved aside a bit, to give Gabrielle room to walk next to her. “About that wizard?”
“Once up on a time…” Gabrielle began.
Her voice lifted and carried back, the rain now softened by the thick leaves. The rowdy cursing faded and ears perked up to listen, and even the thunder grumbled more softly.
**
“Brr.” Gabrielle clutched the edges of her damp cloak together with one hand, using her staff to help her move up the steadily increasing slope before her. The rain had slowed, but it had also gotten much colder and now felt like bits of ice idly striking her skin.
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