With a grimace, the soldier wrapped his fingers in the man’s hair and pulled his head back, forcing him to face the queen.
Xena held the kit up. “Did you steal this?” She was aware, at the very fringe of her perception, of Gabrielle creeping up and watching from behind the first circle of men.
“Never s…saw it.” The man ground out from between clenched teeth.
The queen hefted the kit. “So, it grew legs and walked to your bedroll and snuggled up because you smelled like its mama?” She tossed the kit back to its owner.
The man just looked sullenly at her.
Xena crossed over to him and struck like a snake, her hand catching him in the throat as she lifted him up onto his toes. “I...” She snarled. “Asked you a question.” Her fingers tensed, and the veins under them jumped and pulsed. “Did. You. Steal. This.”
The man struggled to breathe, his legs shaking. “I…”
“Faster.” Xena shook him viciously, rattling his teeth together. “Patience is a virtue. We all know how virtuous I am.”
“I... I didn’t!” The man choked out. “Twas there… when I got back from the fire! I swear it!”
His breath was offensive. Xena punched him hard with her free hand and released his throat as he dropped to the ground unconscious. Then there was silence as the men waited, looking at each other as she wiped her hands off on her shirt and let her hands fall to her hips.
Gabrielle eased through the line of men and came to her side, wrapping her hands around her new staff and leaning on it as she looked down at the drover. “He said he didn’t take it.” She murmured.
Xena wrinkled her nose expressively. “If I was holding your throat, choking you and you knew stealing meant death, and I asked you if you stole something, what would you say?”
“You mean if I really took it?” Gabrielle asked. “I think I would just say so.”
“Figures.”
“I mean, how would he know if you weren’t going to kill him anyway?” Gabrielle lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “If he lied, you’d kill him, right?”
Xena shifted. “Right.”
“So... if I was going to die either way. I think I’d rather die telling the truth.”
The queen observed the circle of waiting me. “Me, too – but this guy’s got the brains of a goat, and he’s neither as smart, nor as moral as you are.” She looked at the thief’s victim. “How’d you find it?”
“Came back from washing up, Mistress. Found it gone, and we started looking.” The soldier reported crisply. His eyes met Xena’s with calm forthrightness. “Max spotted it half tucked under this ‘un’s bedding over there.” He pointed. “Wasn’t much else to say... wasn’t going to bother your majesty with it.”
Gabrielle exhaled. “That really is pretty cut and dried isn’t it?” She admitted.
Xena’s blue eyes sharpened. “Is it?” She slowly started to walk around the circle, examining the soldiers. “You know, Gabrielle… my delicious little friend, it occurs to me that though our lumpy stock man there doesn’t have much brains, he really doesn’t seem to be the suicidal type.”
Her gaze found each man’s and held it. “In fact… you know what this reminds me of, Gabrielle?”
“Um... no.”
“It reminds me of a three day old dead fish.”
Gabrielle just leaned on her staff, and kept her mouth shut.
Face after face, eyes after eyes, she swept slowly around in a circle searching.
Finally. A set of eyes that refused to meet hers. “Did you know a lot of people think I can read minds, Gabrielle?” Xena asked, in a conversational tone. “That if I look into someone’s eyes, I know what they’re thinking?”
“Really?”
“Really.” Xena reached her hand back. “Here, let me borrow your big stick. I’ll show you a neat trick with it.”
Gabrielle straightened and extended the staff to her, watching her take it and then walking up behind her to see what she was going to do with it.
Xena slid the wood up between her hands, then she pulled the top end back and slammed the bottom end forward, catching her shifty eyed quarry between the legs with a blow so hard it actually made a popping sound when it hit him.
He sagged to the floor with a croak, his hands going to his groin in helpless clutching. Xena put the end of the staff against his throat and leaned on it, cutting off his air. “Now, see, Gabrielle? That’s two things you can do with this.” She instructed. “I don’t like thieves, but I really hate snakes a lot worse.” She turned and looked at the gaping soldier who’d lost his kit. “You and him buddies?”
“Buh… Majesty, he’s an old friend, yes. We...”
“Your bedrolls next to each other?”
The man nodded.
“Get me the wagon master.” Xena ordered. She waited until the older man came forward, watching her in nervous wariness. “Stevan.”
“Mistress.”
“Tough road today?”
The man half shrugged. “Passable rough, Mistress. We managed.”
Xena leaned on the staff and pinned him with her eyes. “You’re supposed to tell Brendan when your men have trouble with my men, Stevan. You didn’t.”
His eyes dropped. “Was just a scuffle, Mistress. No one got hurt.”
Gabrielle watched all this in utter fascination. Xena had taken nothing but her instinct and at every turn, it seemed she knew exactly what had happened.
How did she do it? Just by knowing these people?
“Just a matter of that one wanting some apples, Mistress. Didn’t think it was hardly worth mentioning.” Stevan said, meekly.
“It almost cost him his life.” Xena pointed at the drover on the floor. “Next time, follow my rules or I’ll chuck you off the cliff, understand?”
He stared at the drover, and gave her a shaken nod. “Aye, Mistress.”
“Get him out of here.” Xena ordered the wagon master. Then she turned and regarded the soldier on the floor. “Now, what do I do with you?” She pondered. “What do I do with a moron like you who has no discipline, and is an idiot to boot?”
After a moment, she turned and tossed Gabrielle back her staff. She studied her face for a moment. “Want to go get a drink?”
Gabrielle understood. She caught the staff and curled her hands around it, drawing in a slow breath. Then she shook her head.
Xena accepted the answer. She turned and flexed her hands, running over her options. So little time, so many possible tortures. The queen sighed. “What kind of fun am I in the mood for today?”
Then a funny thing happened. Xena slowly tilted her head to one side. She was very surprised to realize that she really had no urge to spend her time out here, punishing a man who meant nothing to her. Her real want was to go and relax on her furs with Gabrielle.
Bad?
Well. Xena acknowledged. There was nothing to say that she couldn’t have it all. “Strip him and tie him up outside.”
“Mistress, it’s snowing.” Brendan had arrived, though he’d remained quiet until now. “He’ll freeze t’death fore morning.”
“Good.” Xena said. “If he doesn’t, maybe he’s worth something.” She kicked him in the butt, spinning him around as he lay groaning. “Leave his leggings and boots on.”
“Aye, Mistress.” Brendan nodded. “I’ll take care of it for ye.”
“I bet you will.” Xena gave him a look. “This crap happens again, I won’t be so nice next time.” She turned and walked past Gabrielle, heading back to her secluded spot.
Gabrielle paused, watching the drover be lifted to his feet. Her eyes met his. She smiled briefly. He reached a shaky hand up and touched his forehead, then limped off with Stevan towards where the rest of the servants were clustered, waiting.
“Damn.” The man who had his kit stolen murmured, running a hand through his hair. “Never figured it that way.”
“That’s why she’s the queen, and you ain’t but a mongrel dog.” Brendan shoved him back. “G’wan out of my way. You’ve caused enough trouble tonight.”
Gabrielle watched them drag the other soldier towards the cave entrance, his boots clattering on the ground. Then she turned and followed Xena’s steps, her head bowed in deep thought.
**
Part 17
It was still snowing the next morning. They filed out of the cave anyway, prodded by Xena determination that no storm was going to block their passage one candlemark longer.
Gabrielle glance to her right as they came out, immediately sorry she had done so. The man Xena had ordered put out the night before had died, and his frozen body was hanging from a couple of strips of rawhide wedged in the rocks.
As they passed, he swung stiffly against the stone, and she forced her eyes down and away from his glassy eyed face.
Xena didn’t give him so much as a second glance. She led her big stallion down the path and paused at it’s intersection with the main track, now covered in a layer of snow. As she stood watching, snowflakes peppered her dark hair, making her toss her head to rid herself of them. She waited for a cluster of bodies to form up behind her before she crossed onto the track and turned up slope, her boots crunching the fresh snow with an audible rasp.
No one else moved. Gabrielle glanced around, puzzled, until she realized they were waiting for her to go first. “Sorry.” She eased forward. “C’mon, Patches, let’s go.” She led her pony after Xena, watching him pick his route carefully on the slippery rocks. Her boots found solid purchase though, and she went a little more confidently as they started to move uphill.
She tried not to think about the man they’d left behind, but it was hard. He hadn’t been nice, and he’d almost gotten someone killed, but still… Gabrielle exhaled, her breath appearing in a soft cloud before her. Still, he’d just been mean and stupid, after all. Was that really any reason to die?
Was there really any reason at all to die, unless you had to?
With a slight shake of her head, Gabrielle leaned forward and moved a little faster, just about catching up with Xena as they came to a slight bend in the path. She walked in the queen’s shadow, keeping her head down as the snow peppered her with a frosty coating.
They climbed for candlemarks in relative silence, the sound of the horses feet and the wagon’s wheels rumbling up all around her as they walked into a world slowing into a white, cold sleep.
Gabrielle lifted her hand and rubbed her nose, the tip of it beginning to go a bit numb from the cold. Her hands were starting to ache as well, and she tucked them under her cloak once she’d warmed her face up. Ahead of her, Xena was striding along as though she were out for a stroll in the garden and Gabrielle decided to distract herself by studying the queen instead.
She had a really nice walk, the slave decided. It was powerful and very rhythmic, her boots lifting clear of the snow before plowing back into it in an almost march.
Xena was, she was surprised also to note, just a touch bowlegged, and it gave her a hint of a sexy swagger when she walked. She must have spent a lot of the time with her army riding, Gabrielle realized. She also held her upper body differently, shifted just a bit to one side.
She had nice shoulders. Gabrielle could see them moving under her cloak, and they were broad enough to hold the garment neatly in place without it’s sliding back.
As she walked, her head was constantly in motion, a steady scanning back and forth as she broke the trail and led them upward. That was amazing, really – she had expected soldiers to surround the queen out here in the wilderness and instead it seemed the other way around. Xena was the one who everyone looked to for protection.
She was, in all senses, a leader.
Gabrielle exhaled. And leaders sometimes had to do what they had to do, isn’t that what she’d tell you?
With a greater effort, she got closer to the queen, close enough for Xena to sense her presence and glance back at her, lips curving into a smile and revealing white teeth as their eyes met. “You frozen yet?”
Gabrielle reached up and rubbed her nose again. “Sort of.” Her eyes were watering from the cold, damp wind blowing down the mountainside.
“That’s the price you pay for being my consort.” The queen told her cheerfully, pointing behind them. “Back there, it’s nice and warm behind all those damn animals.”
The slave looked behind her, then she looked back and Xena. “I’ll take the cold.” She stated, giving the queen a stolid grin. “Besides, I like to see where I’m going.” She paused. “Where are we going, anyway?”
Xena slowed a trifle and pointed ahead of them. “See that pass up there? That break in the rocks?”
Gabrielle squinted, shading her eyes against the snow. “Um… sort of.”
“Trust me, it’s there.” The queen assured her. “Once we’re through it, we go down hill into the next valley. Weather’ll clear up, and we can get something accomplished.”
“Is that the only way to go there?”
Xena pointed downward. “The road, but that takes a day longer, and you still end up having to go through that damn pass. If we let the snow fill it, we could get trapped.”
“Oh.” Gabrielle didn’t like the sound of that. “Will we get there in time?”
The queen chuckled. “Yeah. It’s only been snowing since last night. Take days of it to fill the pass.” She flexed her hands, taking a deep breath of the cold air and seeming to revel in the damp discomfort. “Ah, this beats that damn stronghold.”
The slave looked up. “It does?”
Xena kept on walking, her face suddenly thoughtful.
The path got steadily steeper, and Gabrielle found herself breathing hard and conscious of a sweat forming under her clothes despite the chill. She glanced behind her to see the front row of soldiers stolidly following, the cold betraying their equally strained breaths in streams of fog before them.
That made her feel a little better, especially since Xena didn’t appear to even be exerting herself.
Her legs were shaking badly by the time they reached the pass, and she found herself very grateful for her walking stick as she leaned on it. The snow had gotten heavier and now not only her nose, but a good part of her face felt numb along with her hands.
Xena entered the pass, all her senses alert. The newly fallen snow hid any footprints, but she tilted her head up to catch the wind, searching out any sounds or smells out of the ordinary.
There were none. The queen continued on, secretly glad to be on relatively level ground. Fit though she was, the walk had strained her energy more than she’d expected and that annoyed her more than she’d readily admit to anyone other than herself.
Not that anyone would dare to ask her, of course.
“You doing okay?” Gabrielle materialized on her right hand side, now that the path was wide enough for them to walk side by side.
Oh well. Almost anyone. “Me? I’m fine. You look like you’re about to keel over.” Xena remarked. “Sheep don’t walk much, do they?”
“Not unless they have to.” Gabrielle admitted. “Mostly they just hang out and eat grass. They leave all that mountain climbing stuff to the goats.” She looked ahead of them, studying the pass. It was long and narrow, and the exit sloped up again before it disappeared over the edge of the mountain. She could readily see that, filled with snow high enough, it could become deadly indeed.
She was glad they’d be through it soon. The high, echoing walls made her faintly apprehensive. Operating on instinct she moved closer to Xena, only just catching herself from taking hold of the queen’s hand. Up here in the pass, the wind had lessened, broken by the tall cliff walls and sent into odd swirls that caught their capes, wrapping them around their legs.
Gratefully, she flexed her hands, raising one to rub at her face as it started to tingle with renewed feeling. “Brr.”
“Cold?” Xena asked.
Gabrielle peeked up at her, unsure if it was a serious question. How could she not be?
Without missing a step, Xena leaned over and caught her jaw, kissing her with frank, full out passion. After an endless moment, she released her slave and straightened, licking her lips and making a pleased noise.
Gabrielle stumbled, then caught herself as a thundering flush of blood warmed every inch of her. The sudden passion was stark, and very unexpected, and her guts ignited in a desire to continue the contact regardless of the circumstances.
“Warmer now?” Xena asked, with a smirk.
The slave swallowed, holding down her surprisingly aggressive libido. “Um.. yes, thanks.”
The queen chuckled, then slowly, her laughter faded as something… tickled her senses, bringing a faint warning from a source she hadn’t quite located yet. She slowed, and lifted her hand, clenching her fist tightly over her head.
The men behind her stopped short and went still. Only the wagons creaked for a moment more as the drivers pulled the cart horses to a halt, and then it went quiet.
Xena felt a sudden knot in her guts. Even as the first yell went up she knew she’d just walked into a trap and her hand was going for her sword as she let out a bellow of warning.
All at once, the pass was full of chaos. Above them on the walls, heads appeared and a rain of stones and debris headed down onto them.
Xena grabbed Gabrielle by the front of her cloak and pushed her against the wall behind her, yelling out orders as she did so. The soldiers responded rapidly, throwing themselves against the stone and jumping to take cover under the wagons.
“Guard the rear!” The queen bellowed.
“No! Mistress! There!” Brendan let off a crossbow bolt at the ledge overhead, and pointed ahead of them. “Look!”
Xena looked. Coming down the pass from the other side was a legion of armored men. The only thing between them, and her soldiers – between them and Gabrielle, was her.
And it got very quiet for Xena, as things seemed to slow around her, giving her time to understand what as about to happen, a feeling of disappointment swamping over her as she realized there was no one to blame for the place she found herself in but her.
It was almost peaceful, knowing that. She had lived by her own rules, after all.
“All right!” Xena broke out of the knowledge. “Everybody turn, and RUN!”
“They’ll cut us down!” One of the men nearest her shouted, as the legion began to come in range, and crossbow bolts started to fly.
“NO they won’t. “ Xena gave him a shove, as the men started to move. “MOVE IT! NOW!!!!”
A handful of her soldiers knelt by the wagons and fired up at the walls, desperately trying to keep it clear as the servants near the back started to stumble back towards the inner pass walls.
Xena whirled, judged the oncoming men, then she half turned and grabbed Gabrielle, shoving her after the last of the soldiers. “Go on!”
Gabrielle was scared half to death. She felt arrows whizzing by her, and almost screamed when Xena plucked one out of mid air right before her eyes. She held on to the queen’s cloak, desperate not to be separated from her. “You should go first! You’re the queen!”
Xena backed, holding her in the circle of one arm, her eyes darting back and forth, judging distance and angles. “I want you to go with Brendan.”
“No.”
“Gabrielle.” Xena yelled at the top of her voice. “GO!” She shoved back against the moving men, knocking arrows out of the air with her sword.
“I’m staying with you.”
Xena slashed expertly, saving both their lives in a blink of an eye. “I’m not going.” She told Gabrielle harshly. “I’m going to hold the pass so the rest of you can GET THE HADES OUT OF HERE.” She pushed Gabrielle away. “SO GO!”
Gabrielle slammed against the backs of two men, hearing the screams, smelling the blood, feeling the carnage. “No.”
“I SAID GO!” Xena was at the end of her patience. The men were almost within range, and they were near the pass. She grabbed Gabrielle and lifted her, tossing her towards the opening. “Brendan, take her out!”
She put her back to the pass and dug her boots in, weaving a net of steel around herself as the arrows now focused on her. The men saw her, and a bloody yell went up.
A yell for her blood.
The warrior that lived inside Xena woke. It was almost a relief as she felt the feral energy rise, and she came to grips with the knowledge that no matter how good she was, she would not survive this fight.
But that was all right. Her men would.
Gabrielle would.
Maybe Gabrielle would tell everyone about it. Maybe she’d end up a hero after all.
Xena almost laughed. She heard the last of the wagons roll back through the pass and she slid backwards, putting herself squarely in the middle of the opening. Legs braced, she let out a wild battle roar and pointed her sword towards the oncoming me. “Come and get me, boys. It’s a great day to die.”
Just like the oracle had told her. Xena spared her fate a smile. Let anyone into your heart, and it will destroy you, Xena. It will be your end.
He’d been right. Xena readied herself, moving her hands so fast her sword was only a blur to keep the arrows off her.
Stupid bastard just hadn’t bothered to mention it would be worth dying for.
The first line reached her.
“Goodbye, muskrat.” Xena whispered, then gave herself over to the killing.
**
“No!” Gabrielle struggled in Brendan’s arms as they bolted through the pass. “Let me go!”
“Easy, girl!” The soldier panted. “She’ll be after us in a bit, just giving us some running room, that’s all.”
Gabrielle arched her head, keeping Xena’s figure in sight. She saw the queen set herself, digging the heels of her boots in as she prepared for the onslaught heading right for her. There were at least fifty men bearing down on her, not speaking of the ones on the wall and something inside Gabrielle told her no matter how incredible a fighter Xena was, there were just too many of them.
She started struggling again, throwing her body weight to one side and knocking Brendan off balance. “LET ME GO!” She yelled right in his ear. With a wrench that took all her strength, she pulled free of the soldier and started back towards the pass.
“GIRL!” Brendan caught her arm. “C’mon!”
The slave whirled on him. “She needs help! How can you just run away!”
Brendan looked past her. “Gabrielle, it’s all her plan! She’ll be fine!”
“There’s hundreds of them!” Gabrielle pulled free again. “If you want to run, go on. I’m going back to fight with her.”
“Gods.” The soldier grabbed hold of her cloak. “That’s the last t… girl! Use your head! It’s the queens orders! She wants you safe!”
Desperate, Gabrielle untied the cloak and stripped out of it, freeing herself. She bolted up the path, barely aware of Brendan clambering after her. She got to the top, half afraid to look when he caught up to her. He reached out to grab her again but she slipped past him and searched anxiously for the queen, finally finding her tall form almost obscured in a sea of lethal steel.
The men on the walls were climbing down, yelling in triumph.
“Damn.” Brendan whispered. “They don’t care about all of us.”
“No.” Gabrielle’s heart sank. “They just want to kill her.” She started forward. “Go on. Run and save yourself.”
“Gabrielle!” For the last time, he grabbed her arm.
She turned and looked him in the eye. “I know where my place is.” Her finger pointed to the melee. Then she pushed off from the rocks and started to run.
**
It would be an interesting death. Xena lifted a boot and kicked one man back, ducking another’s sword while she slammed her body against the spear butt of a third. Already the ground was dark with blood around her.
So far, she’d held her own, and it was really pissing them off. Xena laughed and ducked another swing, whipping her dagger out and plunging it into the man’s gut, yanking it back out accompanied by a shower of hot blood.
None of them had gotten past her.
Xena killed another man, and took a vicious kick to the side before she realized none of them were even trying. It almost made her stumble as the knowledge settled over her, the understanding that she’d walked, almost ran into a trap specifically set for her.
It made her so mad she cut off the head of the attacker closest to her, a yell of pure rage escaping from her throat. A surge behind him pushed against her, and she felt a moment of self disgust. Her sword faltered just for an instant, and she nearly lost her life for it.
Damn it.
She recovered her footing and grimly returned to business, deciding if she was going to die here, caught in a trap she should have seen coming than at least she was going to take a lot of them with her.
She raised both arms and slashed down ward, splitting a man’s head open and wrenching her arms to one side to free her blade from the bone. She ducked to one side, then lashed out to push the nearest two men back, aware of two more coming at her from the back.
Xena dropped to a crouch, and they lunged over her, then another man leaped on her from the side and she got knocked off her feet.
Bad.
She felt hands grabbing at her, and a painful impact against her hip as she rolled under the weight of the men, her leaner, more flexible body giving her an unexpected advantage as she squirmed and kicked anything within reach.
By the skin of her teeth she got free, and pulled herself up next to the rocks just in time to meet a fresh wave of assault.
She put her back to the rock and wrapped her hands around her sword hilt, using it as both weapon and shield as she held her ground against the sea of men attacking her.
The hate was almost palpable. Xena grimly shoved aside a man trying to gut her and pulled her arm free from a ax that left a long, red line on her skin. The men sensed their growing advantage and shoved forward, pinning her in place as their weapons rose and fell, deflected only by Xena’s skill and a core of strength she’d spent a lifetime building.
But there were limits, even to that.
She saw two men raise crossbows and release them, and in between deflecting a sword and ducking a mace she somehow found time to knock the bolts aside. But it brought her sword out of position and she knew she wouldn’t catch the second set of bolts as the closer one raised his weapon and aimed it at her.
About to pull the trigger, he suddenly jerked and the crossbow went sideways. He lifted his hand to his face and looked around in angry bewilderment.
Xena ducked another blow, sliding to one side and letting the club hit the rock instead. The man pulled his arm back, then he, too, stumbled back and lifted a hand to his head.
She was too busy to really wonder about it. The crowd surged over and against her, and she was fighting for her life in an instant, swamped beneath a wave of stench, and fists, and weapons that thumped against her body.
On the edges of her awareness, she could hear a voice yelling, it’s tones striking a chord inside her that made her frantically kick and shove back against the men, clearing some fighting room around her as her eyes swept around her.
Searching.
**
Gabrielle rounded the edge of the rocks and skidded to a stop, facing the sea of angry men in a moment of consternation. Her frantic desire to be at Xena’s side drove her on, but now that she’d gotten this close, what was she supposed to do to help? She didn’t even have her stick, not that she’d really know what to do with it.
Desperate, she looked around and then darted forward, to gather an armful of rocks as she raced forward. Getting closer, she started pelting the men with the stones, aiming and letting go with a skill she’d never thought she’d ever have to use for anything more than amusement.
Fear gave her strength. She grabbed every rock she could get her hands on and kept throwing them at the crowd, despairing of having any effect at all.
One of the men she hit turned and spotted her. He lifted his sword and came at her with an angry yell, and she found herself facing an ugly death in an instant. With a yelp, she threw a last rock at him and ducked out of the way just in time to avoid being sliced in half.
“Bitch!” The man whirled and hacked at her again. Gabrielle scrambled up onto a rock and jumped over it, landing in nearly a sprawl as her boots slipped out from under her.
It saved her life. The man’s sword smashed into the rock over her head so hard he dropped it, the heavy metal weapon thumping over Gabrielle’s shoulders and landing on the ground. Instinctively, she grabbed hold of it and half crawled, half ran out of his grasp, running smack into the back of a man who had just swung around and slammed his mace into something.
With a yell of triumph he lifted his hands with the weapon clasped in them and arched his back, ready to deliver a second blow, this one with far more power than the last.
Gabrielle staggered back, realizing the man hadn’t even felt her, he was so huge. She drew a breath, then her vision cleared and she saw what he was about to hit.
Xena was pinned to the rock by at least six men, her sword arm held by sheer weight as she lifted her free hand in a doomed attempt to protect her head from the mace.
“XENA!!!” Gabrielle felt the name ripped from her throat.
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